


Skeleton Sisters and the Architect

by nighttimelights



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: (... i'm actually not sure which it would be since it's a lady reader x ladies...), F/F, Fluff, Harem, Neighbors, Reverse Harem, Romance, Shenanigans, all kinds of fun with tropes, basically all the skeletons are ladies that's the deal, buckle up it's about to get lady lovin' lady as heck in here, lilytale, multiverse crew but they're ladies, wlw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-19
Updated: 2019-04-12
Packaged: 2019-04-25 00:06:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 59,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14366649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nighttimelights/pseuds/nighttimelights
Summary: When a group of skeleton sisters with some curious similarities show up as your neighbors, it's hard to resist making friends with them. With this crew, it's even harder to not find your heart racing more often than not.Of course, sometimes the cat comes out of the bag about a few key details a little bit late, and before you know it, your life as an architect starts getting a lot less simple and a lot more interesting.





	1. In Which It Turns Out You and Skeletons Get On Like a House on Fire

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Skeleton Squatters and the Landlady](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9816140) by [Tyrant_Tortoise](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tyrant_Tortoise/pseuds/Tyrant_Tortoise). 



For having a mailbox just at the opposite end of the row of five small connected townhouses your home was a part of, you really needed to check it more often than you did.

It always left you sighing to yourself as a week or two later you bit the bullet after work and swerved to go to the mailboxes and rummage through your stuffed box. Your other neighbors had all moved out within the past month at varying timeframes, at least, so you knew you’d have peace as you sorted through them to see what to toss in the neighboring recycling bin before you left the small covered area.

Junk mail, junk mail, bill, mysterious letter in all caps addressed to CURRENT RESIDENT, junk mail, bill to someone else you’ve never heard of, bit of lint, junk mail, coupons… You remained idly crouched down as you sifted through the unreasonable stack, your box the lowest of the stack of two columns and three rows, right next to the outgoing mail slot.

It was drizzling outside, creating an atmosphere that had you sleepier than you should be at 6pm.

With the lull of a long day behind you and the calming rain, you were taken by surprise when a scuff of footsteps closeby announced new arrivals to the mail box stack. Not expecting anyone given the empty state of the other townhouses, you found yourself glancing up to witness the arrival of two figures now thumbing through a key ring to a set of four similar-looking keys.

You froze.

The taller of them glanced over to look around the head of their companion, meeting your wide-eyed gaze-

Or rather, they looked around the _skull_ of their companion.

A quirked brow lifted their features, and with a casual motion that looked almost like a shrug, they elbowed their companion and nodded to you. The smaller of the two - who you realized from your crouched position at the lowest of the mailboxes must still be without a doubt taller than you - glanced down towards you.

You couldn’t stop staring.

They grinned.

“hey there, new neighbor. you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Their words and the tone of your voice snapped you out of your shock - and you were suddenly trying to bite back a snort of a laugh, turning your head quickly away with a burning of your cheeks.

“Nah, just seeing your everyday pair of skeletons,” you managed to say with as casual an air as you could manage. In your shock your mail had helpfully slipped right out of your hands to scatter onto the ground, so you quickly distracted yourself from getting caught staring with attempting to gather it up.

It was nearly all the smooth glossy printout kind, making it impossible to pick up swiftly to make a totally casual, not-at-all hasty retreat.

There was a moment of quiet before the skeleton that had spoken up - a woman, you thought, but with monsters you tried particularly hard not to assume - started chuckling.

Stars help you, you _would_ immediately get caught gawking at the monsters that were, apparently, your new neighbors. Talk about a first impression.

Your cheeks heated, a hand dragging down your face in embarassment

It had been a few years since monsterkind had surfaced from the mountains - hundreds of thousands of them, apparently, and with them came all kinds of unfortunately unsurprising explosive sociopolitical debates. This past year things had finally started to settle, with the monster population finally allowed to fan out and settle more widely with at least the very basic rights and status granted to them as semi-citizens, but they still lacked a considerable number of rights that humans took for granted.

You’d met quite a number of monsters by this point, thanks to the small town you lived in having gathered a decent population of its own - with proximity to the sea and mountains both, as well as a local college and variety of economic interests, it apparently seemed a good a place as any. You even currently lived on the side of town with the greater concentration of monsters - and overall, you’d never met a monster you outright disliked.

Sometimes, though, even years later - there were ones that you couldn’t help but doubletake at. Their appearances were beyond what the term ‘varied’ could describe, and, well…

… _skeletons_ were entirely new to you, and here two were at your mailbox.

Your hands dragged futilely against a particularly large glossy piece of cardstock junkmail advertising pizza coupons, your thoughts and mild embarrassment at being one of _those_ humans keeping you distracted.

You startled when boney digits nearly brushed against yours before they dragged perfectly at the edge of the mail card, catching it just right so it would lift away from its absurd static grip on the smooth pavement below. You looked up to meet the eyes - eyesockets - of the one who’d spoken to you, now crouching next to you and offering you the last piece of fallen mail.

White lights in their sockets met your gaze, and you realized they were grinning at you again.

“sorry, didn’t mean to make you feel like you had a _brush with death_ ,” they said. From their tone they seemed amused, but something in the back of your mind caught the way their eyelights flickered just slightly, as if searching your expression.

… _Naturally_ . You were, after all, simply staring at them _again_.

“Oh- god, no, it’s fine, _I’m_ sorry for staring-” you said, your mouth finally catching up to your mind as you smiled sheepishly back, taking the mail from them and standing. They rose too, absently brushing off their dark jeans and tucking a hand casually back into their jean pocket. They wore a long blue zip-up hoodie, opened to reveal a low hanging white shirt. A light brown slouchy beanie hung off their skull, and the lids of their eyesockets seemed like they had… well, _magic_ hazing faintly over them in blue.

You also could’ve _sworn_ they had marks on their cheeks like freckles.

The skeleton waved their free hand, shrugging. “don’t worry ‘bout it. humans always seem a little offput at least at first glance - something about seeing something on the _outside_ that oughta be _inside_ , right?”

They winked at you, turning back to their own mailbox - or mailboxes. Their companion had unlocked the other four above your own, the ones matching the rest of the row of small townhouses, and had taken out the empty cards meant for the name of the resident. Relief eased the tension in you at the fact they didn’t seem offended, and you breathed out, ducking briefly down once more to close your own mailbox and take out your key-

… Wait.

“Was that… an innuendo…?”

Your gaze locked with the skeleton you’d been talking to. Their eyesockets had widened, and you stared right back at them.

“Damn, Serif, I think you hit the jackpot on neighbors.”

It was their companion that spoke, their own gaze now locked on yours.

Their voice was smokey and pleasant - almost like what you’d expect some sort of jazz singer’s to be - and the single golden eyelight in their left eye seemed bright as their smile widened to a crooked grin. They had striking cracks along their face, one between their left eyesocket and mouth, the other rising from a partially closed right socket to the back of their skull - but your face was burning, and you couldn’t really take in much more than that before the skeleton you’d been talking to started laughing.

Their hand pressed to their mouth as they bent over, the laughter getting the best of them as they leaned against the mailbox, unable to come up with a reply.

It was, honestly, infectious.

You started laughing too, the slip only making the whole semi-awkward situation seem ridiculous, and with their companion now chuckling too, their face turned and their eyes closing as they shook their head, it was a lost cause.

The shorter of the two - confirmed now, of course, to be taller than you - recovered enough to speak first. They feigned wiping a tear exaggeratedly from their eye as they said, “oh _stars_ i didn’t even mean that one - _goat_ help me, i think i might just like livin’ in this complex after all.”

They lifted their hand then as you tried to get your reaction under control, the mixture of amusement and absurd mortification making it no easy task. Still, you managed to lift your own hand, shaking theirs with a grin-

-only to burst helplessly into another disbelieving round of laughter as the unmistakable sound and feeling of a whoopie cushion met the clasping of your hands.

You didn’t even let go as it wheezed out the last pitiful, breathy raspberry sounds, your fingers unflinching at the feel of their boney hand. Their grin widened, quiet laughter shaking their shoulders.

“talk about a _windfall_ getting to meet the neighbor the day before move-in,” they said, their brow quirking higher, looking decidedly pleased at your failed attempt to recover thanks to the terrible pun mercilessly adding to the amusement of this whole ordeal. “the name’s Serif.i’m a lady, she ‘n her’s fine - same with my friend here, Glyph.”

Glyph, still grinning crookedly with lidded sockets, lifted a hand in greeting.

“Hey, human. Nice meeting a fellow wordplay lover. It’ll be a _breeze_ getting along with someone like you, I’m sure.”

Serif let go of your hand, and you waved it as if asking for mercy, shaking your head as you bit back the urge to laugh again. “No, gods, at this rate you’re going to make me... bust a _rib_ ,” you managed to shoot back, heat in your cheeks for the attempt - but rewarded with a huff of laughter from Glyph and a brighter chuckle and gleam to Serif’s eyelights, you were glad you swung at it.

You took the opportunity then to offer your own name, introducing yourself in turn, and they repeated your name back to you with a confirming nod, as if deciding they liked it.

“glad you’re the mystery neighbor, then - anyone who likes a good joke has good promise in my book,” Serif commented with a laugh still in her voice, her hands deftly sliding the namecards back into the mailboxes, now filled out. You resisted the temptation to peek. Serif seemed to catch your twitch of interest though, and she grinned at you again as she shut and locked the mailboxes, deftly spinning the hefty link of keys around her finger.

Glyph’s phone rang then, pulling Serif’s attention away for a moment - Glyph shifted from leaning against the metal stand of mailboxes and made a gesture to her companion like she was showing the size of something being small, to which Serif huffed a laugh and nodded before Glyph walked away out of the cover of the small roof above the mailboxes and answered the call.

Serif looked back to you, her expression easy as she leaned against the mailboxes.

“my friends and i are the ones that bought out the other four townhouses in this row,” she explained, her head tilting in a gesture to the row your own home was at the opposite end of. Your eyes widened at that.

“I was wondering, considering you have the keys to the other four… Wait - how many of there are you?” you asked, surprised. The area was affordable, certainly - it was a little inconveniently towards the edge of town, and close to the area that was almost entirely monstercentric - and there was still definitely a problem with monster prejudice, leading to lower costs but higher risks in the town putting less money into the infrastructure and the like over here nowadays. Still, you liked the area - it was gorgeous, and again you’d never met a monster you outright disliked.

But even so, buying out four townhouses between a group of friends…? You knew _someone_ had, given the sudden leaving of the previous residents you’d never talked to much anyways, but you’d expected it to be some sort of house-flipping developer.

She chuckled. “well, it’s my sister ‘n i in one… and actually, the other three are actually also pairs of sisters - Glyph here travels a lot so she doesn’t have a place really, but she crashes with us on frequent occasion.”

Frankly, that didn’t lessen the surprise, but there was an undeniable part of you that found it kind of cool too that the whole complex would be women. Talk about rare. And… maybe all monsters, too…? Then again that might be assuming a bit much, given that she only said they were pairs of sisters.

Either way, for once you realized you were actually _interested_ in the arrival of new neighbors beyond the vague hope they weren’t the types to blast music at 3am or have shouting matches with exes in the parking area.

“That’s awesome,” you replied, the answer vague but honest. Serif seemed amused at the positive sort of noncommittal vibe, at least.

For a moment, she looked at you, seeming to turn a little bit thoughtful. It seemed like she was about to say something… but decided against it.

You were saved from having to figure out how to continue or break the conversation in that awkward way of recently-met neighbors by Glyph’s return. She lifted her phone idly, the screen now black and her call over.

“looks like we’ve got the usual kind of excitement going back on at the old place,” she said with wry amusement, her gaze on Serif.

“oh stars, don’t tell me they let Hades into the truck.”

“... They let Hades into the truck.”

“but not Addy.”

“But not Addy.”

Your brows had lifted at this exchange, feeling a little nosily curious despite yourself, but Serif was shaking her head in exasperation and she looked back to you with an apologetic glance.

“sorry, looks like we’re gonna have to get to know each other properly another time,” she said, her smile quirking in the kind of exasperation you recognized as what could only be the older sibling knowing _precisely_ what their younger sibling was getting involved in, and knowing they were about to be dragged into it too.

The look made you smile, and you waved her off.

“Don’t worry about it - sounds like you’ve got way more important things to get up to,” you replied, beginning to step away.

She turned back towards Glyph, lifting a hand in goodbye, but not before tossing you a wink.

“ _tibia_ honest, sunshine, i’d rather get to know you.”

She was following Glyph back down the stairs and sliding into the passenger side of one hell of a sturdy old truck before you could think of a reply.

You heard it pull out of the spot with a well-tended rumble of the engine as you made your way back down the row of housing to your own home without paying much attention to the drizzle overhead, your thoughts honestly escaping you until the moment you were turning your key in your lock.

Just the one stuck out, then.

Namely, that you wondering when the hell seeing a skeleton wink at you became something that made your heart skip a beat, not because of fear -  but because of how strongly the words _oh no, she’s hot_ , ran through your mind at the same moment.

\---------------------------------------------------------------

You’d seen some impressive moving trucks in your time, but you doubted if something approaching the size of an eighteen-wheeler should really count as a moving truck anymore.

The mere sight of it had you turning down your music earlier than usual before you pulled quickly into your usual parking spot to climb out of your old beat up car. You slung your work bag over your shoulder and ran a hand absently through your hair, eyeing the scene before you. If you hadn’t met Serif and Glyph just yesterday, you would have been absolutely baffled.

The doors of your four neighboring adjoined townhouses were open, but the scene was surprisingly calm. You took it in with an idle stretch before shaking your head and crossing the small parking lot to the closer of the two staircases leading up to the raised ground the row of townhouses sat on.

The back of the enormous truck was situated so the ramp leading down from it was next to the stairs closest to you - providing a perfect view of the truck being all but empty with the exception of a couple of mattresses. Sitting on the edge of the truck’s back, one leg crossed up underneath herself and the other dangling lazily, was none other than Serif herself.

Her hoodie was tied around her waist despite the cool spring evening air, and she was talking to someone you didn’t recognize, leaning against the opposite wall of the truck with her legs hanging off the edge - and a third figure, partially obscured by the sheer height of the truck, was laying on the roof of it with a can of coffee balanced on their chest, one knee kicked up to support an ankle, their hands tucked behind their head.

The two new figures, like Serif, were skeleton monsters.

Before you could hesitate over whether to greet Serif or not - you were getting awkwardly close to the back of the truck now, after all, but she _was_ busy talking to the other skeleton sitting closer to her - Serif looked your way.

“hey, sunshine - speak of the devil,” she said, her expression lifting.

“I left that bad of an impression after all, then, huh?” You replied, grinning back. She chuckled, shaking her head as you drew closer and stopped near the foot of the ramp.

“you could say it was _burned_ in my mind, but not in a bad way,” she answered with a shrug. She looked to her side then, gesturing to the skeleton she’d been talking to, who was now looking at you with easygoing interest. “this is one of the friends i told you about - Amber. she’ll be living in one of the units, too - was just tellin’ her ‘bout our new neighbor.”

Amber lifted a hand in greeting, something about it reminding you specifically of the way Serif had done the same to you yesterday. You waved back, adjusting your bag on your shoulder and introducing yourself.

She grinned back, and her hand shifted to grab a small stick poking out of her mouth - a lollipop, you realized, as she pulled it out. It was a soft golden color, and with even more surprise you realized you caught a glimpse of an _orange_ tongue in her mouth as she waved it.

“nice to meet ya - Serif was tellin’ me ‘bout our cute new neighbor,” she said. Her voice was both a little rougher and sweeter than Serif’s, still on the lower end but almost lazily inflected. She wore an orange tanktop with a hoodie tied around the waist, a pair of roughed up long jean shorts, and orange converse to match.

There was something about the way she spoke and held herself that made you oddly nostalgic for late summer afternoons.

The feeling caught you by surprise, but had you grinning back easier than you thought you would have at meeting yet another stranger -  until her words registered with you.

“I- you- wait, _what?_ ” you said, trying not to sputter as your gaze went quickly to Serif who was shooting Amber an unimpressed look as she lifted two fingers on one hand to her eyesockets - before swiping her hand around, pointing the same two fingers back at a laughing Amber.

Serif rolled her eyelights, grinning apologetically at you and rubbing a hand at the back of her neck before adjusting her beanie.

“i was _sayin’_ that you’re cute as in the kinda person we’d get along with, not like some more unpleasant types we’ve known in the past,” she emphasized, gesturing vaguely.

Amber was snickering, wagging her brow at Serif before looking back to you. “i’m just givin’ her a hard time - though she did speak well of you. glad to hear that at least you don’t seem offput by a bunch of skeletons livin’ next door.”

Well there went that unknown from yesterday clarified - though you pretended as if you weren’t getting this information confirmed for the first time at all, shrugging and smiling. “Are you kidding? I once lived next to a guy whose idea of ‘subtlety’ was practicing his accordion at 8am on a Saturday with, no joke, dancing clogs with cymbals on the heels. Another time, I had an apartment neighbor who wore a bright neon outfit straight out of a 90’s MTV music video everyday - and blasted music to suit it every night until I’d swear I could see sunlight peeking through my curtains. So as long as you don’t have _too_ strong a penchant for amplified musical wheezing or the radical stylings of the Beastie Boys, I’m sure we’ll get along just fine.”

Apparently, ‘ _amplified musical wheezing_ ’ was the final nail in the coffin for the two skeletons. Both were suddenly laughing, Amber’shand clacking to her forehead as her shit-eating grin gave way to open laughter - Serif snorted meanwhile, her own grin wide as her hand went to her mouth.

You heard a bark of laughter amongst their laughing, too - this one from above the three of you.

“ _no me digas-”_

Your gaze was drawn up to the roof of the truck at the exclamation, only to meet the red eyelights marking the gaze of the third skeleton, rolled over to their side to look at you with a wicked grin of _sharp_ teeth - and one prominent golden incisor.

Serif’s voice dragged your attention back for a moment as she waved a hand, gesturing towards the roof. “that’s Crimson - one of the others movin’ in,” she introduced, leaning slightly out of the truck to look up at Crimson’s head visible over the edge of it. “what, _now_ you’re awake enough to join in the conversation?”

“ _si, si_ \- when something’s actually _interestin’_ , naturally,” Crimson said, waving her off with a hand that featured the bought can of coffee dangling from her digits. Her gaze remained trained on you, and you lifted your brow in turn, not sure if she was trying to posture or… what.

Her grin sharpened.

She wore a tanktop that appeared to be a little transparent, giving you the impression of a ribcage thicker than a human’s beneath it - a black jacket with an impressively fluffy hood was left laying where her head had been moments prior. Her black jeans were torn and her boots had spikes on them - altogether the effect was almost effortlessly edgy but also oddly stylish in a ‘woke up and threw this on’ sort of way, and it looked like she knew it as your gaze flickered back to meet hers proper.

She winked at you before lifting the hand that held her can of coffee, taking a long sip without breaking eye contact as if measuring you up.

“so, _cariña_ , you’re down with partying with a bunch of spooky skeletons?”

Her voice was lower than Serif or Amber’s, and tinged with a light accent that you could admit being unable to place beyond being latina. Before you could answer Amber was looking vaguely roofward and drawling, “you’re remainin’ an eternal goddamn paradox if you’ve got energy to party after today, Crim.”

Crimson chuckled at that, her head tilting to look down at her friend at last.

“ _oye_ , you tellin’ me you put in more work than i did?”

“i’m _tellin’_ you that you’re a worse liar than i thought if you’re pretendin’ you wanna do anything but pass out on your mattress as soon as Scar’ll let you get away with it.”

“touche,” Crimson said, before glancing back to you.

Crimson calling your name stopped you from starting to move towards the stairs, figuring their conversation turning more internal might be your cue to leave, and you looked up again, your hand in the middle of lifting to wave a quick goodbye. She seemed almost surprised, saying, “‘ey, we’re not borin’ you, are we?”

Your brows lifted. “What? Oh, god - no, nothing like that! I figured you guys were, y’know, just catching a break on a busy day, didn’t wanna impose so I figured I’d leave you to it-”

“you’re not imposin’,” she said, cutting you off smoothly, her grin returning. She swung her legs over the side of the truck then tossed her head back to drain the last of her coffee before effortlessly crushing the can with one hand and shoving it in a pocket.

The next moment she shoved off the truck roof, body arcing briefly through the air. You gasped and instinctively reached out however futilely - that roof was over _13 feet_ off the ground - but she landed in a deft crouch and rose just as smoothly, rolling her shoulders and stretching before she turned to you, still wearing that wicked grin. Her companions looked unimpressed, and Amber even rolled her eyes, so… apparently, it might just be standard that Crimson could do… stunts.

One hand settled on her hip and she cocked her head back towards Serif and Amber.

“c’mon, why don’t you join us? you’re gettin’ off work, right?” Her gaze glanced over your outfit, your business casual vibe a dead giveaway. The straightforward offer took you by surprise, and your gaze went to Serif and Amber. You definitely weren’t used to people you just met offering to hang out like this. Too busy with work to pursue much of a social life, and not the type to social-butterfly your way around in the first place, you’d moved to this town alone after college on top of it all - so while you were friendly with people, you’d long since been in the habit of enjoying your occasional spare time alone or connecting with some people online more often than not.

But rather than seem reluctant, Amber nodded, and Serif grinned and shrugged.

“why not, sunshine?” Serif offered, gesturing to a spot on the edge of the trailer, adding with a wink. “clearly, we’ve got the best seats in town.”

Crimson strode towards you, her posture confident but laid back. Without batting a socket she slung an arm around your shoulders and said, “i’ll be honest, _cielita_ , you’re interestin’, and a breath of fresh air after bein’ stuck with these _numbskulls_ in a truck all day ‘n unloadin’ far too much for the rest. join us, won’t you?”

The way she held herself, the way she spoke with you - everything about her made it seem casual, easy, and she tilted her head as she saw the indecision on your face.

Monsters were a lot more community-oriented and open with meeting new people, at least as a whole, you’d learned. Even the shy ones still thought of neighbors and the like as part of a ‘community’, even if they rarely spoke - and often would, in their own way, reach out. Apparently, they actually _liked_ to know who they were around. Coming from a human your age in this era, that had you on untread footing. There was culture shock to be navigated, even to this day-

But Crimson could see that you were tempted, despite the surprise and your hesitation. Fueling it was the sweet seductive appeal of procrastination - you actually had more work to do, and the weight of your laptop in your bag over your shoulder was awfully uninviting in comparison to the unexpected intrigue of this apparent family - or collection, at least - of skeleton women who were your neighbors now.

Maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing to put off work a little longer…?

Crimson was already pulling you with her back to Serif and Amber, as easily as if she’d known you for years, a pleased glint in her eye even as Serif levelled a look at her. She just shrugged, though, unrepentant given how readily your feet moved to go along with her.

You glanced up at her, noting how much thicker her bones were than a human skeleton’s - though you could kick yourself for that, they were skeleton _monsters_ , after all, not reanimated dead humans. She too was taller than you, but you realized looking up at her that she looked _strikingly_ like Serif.

“Hey, are you and Serif sisters?” you asked as she pulled you towards the ramp, glancing back to Serif as you recalled her saying that they were all pairs of sisters - maybe she and Crimson were-?

But Crimson just laughed, and Serif shook her head with a put-upon faux shudder.

“no, no, vanilla ‘n i over there aren’t related, much as she wishes she got her good looks from me,” Crimson replied, smirking at Serif. There must be some sort of inner joke about the topic, from Amber’s snort and Serif’s immediate comedic deadpan.

You lifted a hand with an apologetic grin, quickly saying, “Ah, hell - sorry, maybe that’s - uh. Skeleton-ist, of me…?” Your expression twisted with the weird phrasing, but they waved you off. “You just look really alike-”

Without missing a beat, Serif said, “eh, fair enough - a lotta humans used to look alike to me. still do, depending on the humans,” she said, looking unruffled by your words. Amber and Crimson nodded in immediate agreement

You thought suddenly of the series of memes you’d seen regarding white frat guys in khaki shorts and how they all looked damn near the same.

… Yeah, you know, that was _definitely_ reasonable - especially when they were used to the way so many monsters were infinitely more varied in their appearance.

Before you could consider taking a seat anywhere or exploring precisely how long Crimson intended to have her arm around your shoulders, a voice cut through the evening air and made you and her both freeze.

“SISTER, FOR THE QUEEN’S SAKE, _WHY IS THERE A HUMAN ADOLESCENT WITH TEN PIZZAS ON OUR NEW DOORSTEP?”_

Your gaze snapped to the townhouse at the opposite end of the row from yours.

At the front door was some poor underpaid teenager, looking as if he was about to sweat his own bodyweight, balancing ten pizzas and a receipt pad in his arms. In front of him, barely able to fit in the doorway, was another skeleton - this one wearing a t-shirt with the arms cut off and a pair of shorts. She was decently far away at the other end of the complex, but you were almost certain she had several scars crossing over one eye.

She also absolutely _towered_ over the pizza delivery guy.

“ _hijo de perra_ ,” Crimson groaned, her arm leaving your shoulders. “i told them to come to the back of the truck-” she looked to you, her sharp grin turning, for a moment, almost rueful. “sorry, sweetheart, be right back, gotta take care ‘a this-”

She was kicking up the stairs then, making her way towards what you could only assume was her and her actual sister’s chosen townhouse, calling out, “ _calmate, ‘manita -_ just thought it’d be nice t’ get somethin’ you won’t have to get all unpacked for-”

Crimson’s sister responded, but you couldn’t quite make it out as you turned back to Serif and Amber, not sure whether to be impressed or horrified.

“... _Ten_ pizzas?”

“trust me, you do _not_ wanna see a bunch of ornery skeleton girls fighting over the last slice,” Amber replied back, chuckling. “you could say we’re all starvin’ - you humans have a saying, right? something about so hungry your _ribs are showing?_ ”

She tugged the low neck of her tanktop to the side for emphasis on her joke, her grin at shit-eating levels once again.

It was Serif’s turn to snicker, and you were unable to help your own grin yet again, replying, “Not sure it counts if you’re already displaying them all the time.”

She shrugged, popping her lollipop back in her mouth, closing one eye. “can’t sweat the details, hun.”

“Especially when you can’t sweat…?” You offered slowly, catching on to her hook.

She shot fingerguns at you with a delighted lift to her expression.

“now you’re gettin’ it.”

“ _tibia_ honest she’s been on a roll since yesterday,” Serif said to Amber, tucking her hands into her jean pockets as her head thunked against the metal wall. Her gaze cut over to Amber, eyeing the way she hadn’t stopped shooting you finger guns in an apparent attempt to make you laugh further. The attempt was, of course, working.

“think we can tempt her to let us get to know her better with a _femur_ puns, Serif?” Amber replied, adding an obscenely smooth eyebrow wiggle for effect to her finger-gunning.

“You’re gonna break the human before you’re even fully moved in if you try,” you cut in, shaking your head and lifting your open hands in a faux plea to be spared. Your chest felt warm at the exchange despite your earlier nerves, and you finally let your bag slide off your shoulders and hit the ground by your feet. You rolled your shoulders in relief, still standing but feeling decidedly better for the loss of that particular weight.

“so the party can start after all - just in time.”

Your head turned at Crimson’s words, seeing her strolling back towards you again. She winked at you as she descended the stairs, sporting the stack of all ten pizza boxes in only one hand. Her other was holding a case of soda, and her grin was positively wolfish. She wasn’t alone, though, and even as tall as Crimson was, it felt almost like a comical pan up to get a proper look at the figure accompanying her.

Behind her strode a skeleton that, in those slight booted heels of hers, _must_ have been rivalling some of the tallest basketball players in professional leagues.

You couldn’t help but stare.

“SERIOUSLY, IT WOULD ONLY TAKE ANOTHER TWO HOURS, _HERMANA_ \- YOU COULDN’T WAIT THAT LONG?!”

… The fact that her voice sounded like a permanent stage voice meant to be heard from a distant balcony without the use of a mic wasn’t exactly helping.

“aw, c’mon, ‘ _manita_. it’s our first day, we’ve been goin’ since a stones-cursed early hour this mornin’, ‘n Sapph ‘n Pepps are gonna take ages t’ get back with Glyph from the store - bet you don’t even know where your damn noodle-pressin’ tools are-”

“THIRD BOX ON THE COUNTER, LEFT OF THE SINK.”

“... damn. still - cleanin’ ‘n unpackin’ all your stuff can _wait_ , gimme this much-”

Crimson dropped the stack of boxes on the back of the truck, flipping open the first box and muttering something along the lines of “hell _yes_ you beautiful round offenses to italian food, get at me-” but her sister, right behind her, suddenly turned on her heel and locked gazes with you.

Your posture straightened, feeling under sudden scrupulous investigation before she was in front of you in just a few long strides. Her gloved hands framed her hips, and she leaned down to look you into the eye, her red eyelights matching her sister’s, but with a kind of intensity that left you unable to even think about looking away.

As it turned out, she did have several facial scars - most prominent were two long scars clawed down over her left eyesocket. The rest of her appearance was striking too, though - she also sported a brilliant red scarf over a homemade screenprinted ‘ _DEATH STRUCK, AND I DODGED’_ shirt with the sleeves cut off. She wore a short pair of jean shorts, but the way she had grabbed your focus kept you from noting much more.

“YOU! SMALL HUMAN NEIGHBOR! AT THE END OF A LONG DAY OF WORK, WHICH WOULD YOU CHOOSE? LASAGNA OR PIZZA?”

You blinked.

“Um - I mean… they’re not… really in the same category of consideration, are they, so-”

Her sharp scowling stare suddenly shifted - and you were looking at the most sharply _beaming_ smirk you’d never even come close to imagining possible.

“HA - THERE, _HERMANA_ , SEE? EVEN OUR NEIGHBOR KNOWS THAT LASAGNA IS BEYOND TAWDRY COMPARISON TO SOMETHING LIKE PIZZA!”

Crimson turned around at that, comically in the middle of biting down on half a slice of pizza with her shark-like teeth. Her brow lifted, looking between you and her sister. Flanking her were Serif and Amber, hanging as if paused from where they’d begun to lean in to rummage through the boxes of pizza.

Amber looked like she was going for the Olympics in holding back laughter, and Serif was looking to Crimson’s sister in delighted disbelief.

“uh, _‘manita_ , pretty sure she meant-” Crimson started to say around her slice of pizza, but her sister cut her off proudly.

“NO, DON’T YOU TRY AND TWIST THIS! SHE SAID IT, AND THEREFORE-” She perked, her triumphant pose shifting as suddenly you were in her sights again, her smirk turning thoughtful. “IT WOULD SEEM SHE IS WORTHY OF DINNER, INDEED - THOUGH THIS IS HARDLY ACCEPTABLE FARE!”

Without a beat missed, you found yourself lifted several feet in the air.

Unable to help the squeaked out sound of surprise, you were left staring at the woman as she looked at you, her hands around your waist, lifting you with _no effort_. Instinctively you grabbed her arms to steady yourself as your legs flailed slightly, but she seemed unphased, simply taking in your appearance with a focused air of tactical appraisal.

“ _Uh-”_ you managed to say eloquently, at a complete loss.

Through a choked sound of laughter, Crimson spoke up quickly then. “-dammit, put her down, Scar, you can’t go around pickin’ up humans here-”

Her sister’s jaggedly sharp mouth twisted slightly, but within a few seconds she nodded to herself, and she moved - easily placing you on the back of the truck, now sitting next to Serif, breathless and in mild surreal shock.

“... _What,_ ” was all you managed to say. Your hands hadn’t released their deathgrip on Crimson’s sister, and she smirked.

“WELL, LITTLE HUMAN? DINNER?”

“I- what- yes?” You replied, eyes turning back up to her properly. In the background, you heard snickering.

Wait, were _you_ the dinner in question? Because-

“EXCELLENT! LASAGNA IT IS THEN-”

Your hands finally released her, and you lifted them quickly, torn between mild panic and baffled laughter at the apparent unstoppable train that was the skeleton woman in front of you. You could see Crimson in your peripheral, staring slightly agape but beyond amused at these developments, and Serif on your other side, not much more helpful.

“I- no, I’m sorry, I mean, I’m afraid - two hours or more is a bit much tonight, I _do_ have more work to do before I can get some sleep,” you said, your tone lifting towards the end, turning the emphatic phrase into almost an apology.

At the way she scowled at this information, then, that felt like the right call - but then her expression turned into an approving look of smugness, and she nodded as she glanced to Crimson.

“YOU ARE DILIGENT AND DEDICATED IN YOUR WORK, THEN… HOW _REFRESHING_ ,” she said, clearly intended as a pleased but drawling jab at her sister. Crimson, however, simply shrugged, finishing off the crust on a slice of pizza before reaching for another.

“hey, some of us have to be the bar you _hard workers_ get measured by, right?”

She winked at you, and your hand lifted to cover your mouth before a laugh escaped you. Crimson’s sister rolled her eyes, clearly unimpressed, then lookedback to you with a suspiciously confident tilt to her smirk.

“VERY WELL. LATER THIS WEEK, LITTLE HUMAN, WE SHALL HAVE LASAGNA, BUT FOR NOW YOU MUST MAKE DO WITH THIS SORRY EXCUSE FOR ITALIAN CUISINE. I SHALL TAKE NOTE OF YOUR USUAL ARRIVAL TIME IN THE EVENINGS. I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE, NATURALLY, SO THERE IS NO NEED TO CONCERN YOURSELF WITH FURTHER DETAILS; I SHALL ATTACH THEM TO YOUR DOOR SHOULD YOUR PRESENCE BE MISSING WHEN PRUDENT TO RELAY THEM.”

You… you really weren’t sure if a dinner invitation was supposed be so threatening and pleasant in the same breath.

“don’t you wanna know her name first, Scar?” Serif finally spoke up, pulling a pizza box with her as she settled back, propping up a leg.

Crimson’s sister’s eyesockets widened fractionally, and she put one hand on her hip, the other lifting to her mouth in a fist as she cleared her throat, glancing away.

“I… HAVE EXCELLENT HEARING. SO I KNOW IT, NATURALLY.” She looked back to you, her intense gaze not wavering despite the slightly red tint over her cheekbones. “BUT YOU MAY ADDRESS ME AS SCARLET, LITTLE HUMAN. AND AS IT IS CUSTOMARY, YOU SHOULD STATE YOUR NAME... AGAIN. EVEN THOUGH I KNOW IT. FOR INTRODUCTORY TRADITION.”

She looked so confident and vaguely intimidating with that sharp smile of hers that even _you_ couldn’t help but very nearly feel convinced that she had outwitted you.

Nearly.

It was with a grin you couldn’t help that you told her your name then, and she nodded sharply, seeming too pleased for someone who had _definitely_ known it.

“EXCELLENT! EXCELLENT. YES, HUMAN CUSTOMS LIKE THAT ARE… IMPORTANT, TOO, I SUPPOSE,” she said, waving her hand before turning away to stride up the stairs. She shot a look over her shoulder as she struck up it two at a time, looking at Crimson. “HURRY UP WITH THAT MEAL - I’M NOT LETTING YOU LEAVE YOUR ROOM AS TWELVE BOXES AND A MATTRESS FOR MONTHS!”

“ _vale, vale,_ ” Crimson called back, rolling her eyelights.

“AND DON’T FORGET TO GET OUR GROCERIES WHEN THEY RETURN!”

“ _siiiii._ ”

“... AND SAVE ME SOME PEPPERONI!!”

Crimson snorted, nearly choking on her bite as you all watched her sister stride confidently and swiftly back to the townhouse on the end of the row, as quickly gone as she’d arrived.

From above, a box of pizza was offered to you, and with a slight jump at the surprise you took it and glanced upwards to see Amber leaning over you, apparently having stood to ensure you finally got your hands on some.

She grinned at you, her brow quirking.

“so, honey… you still sure ‘bout your feelings on 90’s aficionados being less preferable than us? there’s still a few more of us to meet yet, after all.”

You grinned back, flicking open the lid of the box.

“You know what? Yeah - I think _am_ sure.”


	2. In Which There Really Should Be a Joke About 'Winds of Fate'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reminder that you can check out [a reference for the general look of the lilytale girls here, if you're interested](https://nighttimepixels.tumblr.com/post/170972481568/alright-now-that-ive-got-them-all-done-plus) (the link will remain at the fic's endnotes, for future reference). 
> 
> also, for anyone who has trouble with names, [here's an easy reference table for which lady skeleton is who](https://nighttimepixels.tumblr.com/post/173109098103/im-so-lost-i-dont-even-know-which-lady)! <3
> 
> also, part deux: @bluechocowitz did [some incredible fanart of Sapphire that i reblogged with a little Amber here](https://nighttimepixels.tumblr.com/post/173179183433/bluechocowitz-nighttimepixelss-lilytale-is)! i'm still sobbing, she's so heckin' cute ;////;

The next morning you woke up on your couch curled up with your laptop. Your last alarm, that particularly jarring emergency one for  _ precisely this sort of thing _ , was going off. You’d barely had time to right your appearance and brush your teeth before you sprinted out the door, noting that the enormous moving truck from last night was gone already.

Despite the work you had needed to get done, it had been surprisingly easy to get caught up with your new skeleton neighbors - between Crimson, Serif, and Amber, they’d ended up keeping you out there for nearly two hours until the setting sun made you realize just how long you’d put off parting ways.

Crimson had boo’d and Amber had mimicked playing a dirge on a nonexistent trumpet as you’d clambered down from the truck. It had left you and Serif chuckling as you made your excuses and made your way inside - now considerably behind on your work… but realizing just how much you’d missed having even just a few close friends around to goof around with.

Well, not that you were friends with them yet, of course. It was just the way they had drawn you into their jokes had felt close to that; surely though a single evening and some pizza didn’t constitute a friendship… 

… Yet?

In the end, several days passed without you seeing Serif or the others again, or even meeting any of your other new neighbors. Your days were overwhelmingly busy at work, and that threatened to make the  long-term project that you worked on between other designs to fall by the wayside . A frustrated and overworked part of you wondered if your job was  _ purposefully _ giving you too many short-term projects to properly finish it. This was the first time a client had purposefully requested you, after all - and the only project you’d been on in ages you actually liked. 

Nevertheless it was an obscene amount of work, and you were burning the candle at both ends trying to juggle it all. You couldn’t keep it up forever, you knew, but you didn’t really have any other option.

In hopes of catching up on some much needed sleep, you slumped out of bed on Saturday sometime in the early afternoon, groggy but at least a little better rested than you had been. You had the faint feeling that there might have been some sort of clamoring outside earlier - or maybe someone knocking on your door? your wall? - you weren’t sure, as functionally dead to the world as you’d been. The wind had been picking up since last night, too, so it might have just been the shifting of the weather. You couldn’t even quite bring yourself to care that you might have slept through something of interest, given how good it felt to have a decent night’s sleep under your belt.

There had been the occasional thump next door over the past few days, but for being new neighbors who were likely decorating their own space and shifting things around, you’d been pleasantly surprised by whichever of the sisters had taken the townhouse you shared a wall with - there wasn’t anything extreme or unusual in the slightest.

You mused over it as you stood by your coffee maker, rubbing your eyes and yawning as the pleasant scent filled your kitchen while it brewed. Maybe they had just been doing any noisy things while you’d been at work… or, hell, maybe they weren’t the types to hang decorations or move furniture beyond where it fell on moving day. The townhouses weren’t rentals, so you had to assume the girls intended to stay for at least some time, if not indefinitely... 

Your train of vague thought came to a halt at the sound of a thump on your balcony.

Your kitchen was open to your small living room, the opposite end of which featured a large window and glass sliding door that gave clear view of the shallow but long balcony that you’d stuck a chair out on sometime in the past. It was on the second story, of course, but as you turned around to look towards the source of the noise, two things that seemed  _ decidedly  _ out of place were on it nevertheless.

At your door stood a small, proud, and bright white dog, panting happily and looking right at you.

Hanging half over the railing with her legs in the open air beyond it, reaching towards the dog, was a skeleton - a new one, sporting a vibrant peach skirt, yellow shirt, and brilliantly cyan scarf. 

Mouthing something you couldn’t hear, she made another grab at the dog, but missed. Her eyelights lifted then, rising to lock gazes with you suddenly. The following words, though muffled by the glass between you, were pretty impossible to misread even with her contrastingly cheerful expression.

“WELL, SHIT!”

“What the-”

Your startled words cut off as you saw her wobble, looking almost surprised as a large gust of wind on an already windy day messed with her balance. The dog meanwhile put its paws up on your door, looking as if it  _ hadn’t  _ conducted some form of dog sorcery to even find itself on your balcony.

Another gust of wind flared and the skeleton woman seemed to say something to herself as she leaned forward, legs kicking slightly as if trying to get a grip on the dog before she got a grip on  _ not falling off the railing _ .

Before you knew what you were doing you were across your living space and throwing open the balcony door, half tripping over the dog as you lunged for the skeleton’s hands and pulled just as she started to tip backwards more drastically-

The dog barked and pressed against your legs, throwing off your balance.

The wood decking of your small balcony shook as you careened backwards, falling down and dragging your hapless target with you. You groaned, eyes fluttering open after the initial shock had faded. It didn’t take even a split second to realize the skeleton you’d tried to save was now sprawled on top of you, propped up on one elbow to keep her face from crashing into yours, apparently, while the other lifted to her own head. 

She was staring wide-eyed at you, though, cerulean eyelights glowing brightly with a slight haze of the same color over her cheekbones. 

“... Stars,” she breathed.

… For a skeleton, she was surprisingly…  _ sturdy _ , you couldn’t help but note as you stared as if frozen back up at her. 

Her bones were thicker than any human skeleton’s would be, and despite being firm to the touch, it didn’t feel like her body was jabbing into yours as uncomfortably as you would have guessed.

Her legs were definitely tangled with yours, though, and  _ wow _ did she have a few sharp fangs in that growing smile of hers-

“Ah- well- I’d hoped for something better than this in meeting you, but-  _ hello _ , dear neighbor human,” she finally greeted, looking as if she was snapping out of a mild trance.

Your cheeks heated as you snapped out of staring at yet  _ another  _ of your new neighbors.

“H-hi?” you greeted in response.

“... You know, if I was my sister, I’d be  _ terribly _ tempted to say ‘sorry for dropping in like this,’” she murmured then. Her expression was almost thoughtful, and a little reluctant, but amused. The words startled a laugh out of you, making her smile grow wider. Finally, she drew back, proving she was straddling you for a moment before swiftly standing faster than you could follow.  “INSTEAD THOUGH, PLEASE ALLOW ME TO OFFER YOU A HAND UP!”

It left you startled when her voice suddenly shifted even though she had mercifully pulled away first, rivalling Scarlet’s in how  _ resonant _ it was. You could only assume she’d kept it down because she had been, quite literally, in your face.

You were too slow in accepting her offered gloved hand, though - suddenly the small white dog reasserted it’s presence by licking your face, it’s tiny tongue  _ absurdly _ thorough in making you sputter at the jolt back to reality.

“Gah-!”

You took her hand quickly after that, and with a bright laugh she pulled you effortlessly to your feet, saving you from the perils of a small excited dog.

“ADDY, NO!” She scolded despite her smile, scooping downwards to grab the dog - but it bolted with nothing short of a cheerful yip, racing inside through your open balcony door. “DAMN, SHE’S FULL OF DETERMINATION TODAY-”

She turned to you, looking apologetic but oddly excited.

“MAY I APPREHEND MY FRIEND’S DOG BEFORE SHE MAKES HER HOME IN YOURS?”

Your eyes widened, and you blinked.

“... Yes?”

She beamed at you. You realized, then, that she was still holding the hand she’d taken to help you up.

“EXCELLENT.”

Without missing a beat she was leading  _ you _ inside.

Automatically you closed the door behind you, guessing that the wind was picking up in the face of a coming spring storm. You nearly ran into her the following moment when she came to a sudden stop. Her free hand whipped upwards and pointed triumphantly to the dog now inexplicably seated at one of you stools pulled up to the kitchen counter and makeshift breakfast bar. 

“YOUR DASTARDLY GETAWAY ENDS HERE, YOU TRICKY LITTLE PUP! I’VE GOT YOUR NUMBER!”

The dog’s tongue lolled out of it’s mouth, and it cocked it’s head, panting happily.

“AN EXCELLENT TACTIC,” she stage-whispered to you, leaning closer and perhaps purposefully putting her hand on the wrong side of her mouth to ‘hide’ her words. “BUT WE ARE TOO CLEVER FOR THAT, RIGHT?”

“For… for the dog being cute?” you ventured. In the background of the questionable standoff, your coffeemaker finished brewing. If it weren’t for the apparent dog mastermind in between you and it, you’d be home free to caffeinate as much as you wanted.

… Wait. No. This was just a dog. A dog (even a surprisingly acrobatic one) couldn’t stop your coffee needs.

“PRECISELY!” The skeleton  _ still _ holding your hand - though you were getting oddly used to it at how little a deal she was making of it - looked proud of you. 

That fact felt kind of weirdly nice. Hell yeah, you could notice when a dog was cute. 

“NOW LET’S APPREHEND HER-!”

_ “We?” _

“OF COURSE! THIS IS HOME TURF FOR YOU, ISN’T IT? AN EXCELLENT ADVANTAGE - AFTER ALL, ANY TACTICIAN COULD ONLY RELISH TAKING SUCH A THING INTO ACCOUNT!”

Her free hand lifted so her thumb and forefinger, both extended, could cradle her chin thoughtfully as she grinned, nodding to herself. 

“INDEED, THE STRATEGY IS ALREADY FORMING IN MY MIND…”

“... Can I get some coffee first?”

That made her stare at you.

“... CAN YOU  _ GET _ TO YOUR COFFEE?”

And  _ that  _ made your brows furrow.

“It worries me that you’d ask that.”

“IT’S PERFECTLY REASONABLE WHEN IT COMES TO DOGS,” she replied, just as confused.

“I’m almost afraid to know what mornings are like in your home.”

“MOSTLY THEY INVOLVE A LOT OF COMEDY PODCASTS AND BAKED GOODS ALONGSIDE COFFEE SO AMBER WON’T BE TEMPTED TO RESIST WHEN HADES DRAGS HER FROM HER ROOM.”

“... I don’t know where to start with the questions on that one- wait!” You brightened slightly, mind finally catching on something familiar. “Amber’s your sister, then?”

Your accidental companion brightened too, now turning to face you fully. 

“YES, OF COURSE! STARS, I HAVEN’T EVEN INTRODUCED MYSELF-” she lifted her hand as if to offer to shake yours, and then looked down in surprise as she realized she was already holding your hand. After a beat she blushed and then grinned wider, simply shaking your hand from there as if she’d meant to do that. “THE NAME’S SAPPHIRE! SAPPHIRE THE SKELETON, AT YOUR SERVICE!”

She was still shaking your hand, so you couldn’t help but return the grin, even if it was edged with a helpless laugh. 

“Well, it’s nice to meet you Sapphire… I think. I mean, I’ve got questions about the balcony situation, but lemme grab a cup of coffee so I can process it, and you can grab your friend’s dog-”

You let go of her hand and turned to round your counter to the coffeemaker - and froze.

Sitting on the counter now, one paw on the handle of your coffee pot, was the small, white,  _ pleased _ dog.

“How the…?”

“AND  _ THIS _ IS WHY I ASKED IF YOU COULD GET TO YOUR COFFEE,” Sapphire said wryly, stepping slowly around the counter. “SHE’S A CRAFTY ONE…”

You looked to your new neighbor, distressed and baffled.

“How crafty can a dog be??”

“I BELIEVE THERE’S A HUMAN SAYING - ‘DON’T ASK QUESTIONS YOU DON’T WANT TO HEAR THE ANSWERS TO’?”

“That may be the least reassuring thing I’ve ever heard within half an hour of waking up,” you mutter, eyes turning back to the dog. You really hoped you were just imagining the glint to her eyes. “On the plus side, at least she can’t pick up the coffee. I just don’t want her to knock it over instead-”

The dog turned, open its mouth, bit the edge of your coffee pot, and lifted it.

Her fluffy head turned, and she looked you dead in the eye.

“ _ No, _ ” you whispered.

“ADDY!! I AM NOT ALLOWED TO GIVE YOU ANY MORE COFFEE, DAMN IT-”

The dog leapt from the counter, landed on the ground without spilling a single drop of coffee, and darted between your legs. 

Sapphire dove for the dog in the blink of an eye, but it dodged out of the way and hopped up onto your couch cushions, pivoting perfectly. It’s stance was wide, like it was posing, and it’s tail was wagging so fast it looked like it had a motion blur.

“What is this dog  _ on? _ ” You asked, pulling Sapphire to her feet without a second thought, suddenly less distracted by any consideration of how odd this all was and far more focused on this  _ terrifyingly clever dog.  _

“SHE ALREADY STOLE AND DRANK  _ MY  _ POT OF COFFEE,” Sapphire admitted reluctantly, wiping her skirt off automatically and taking a practiced stance as she circled your couch in a careful berth. You fell into mirroring her, leaving the dog half-surrounded. “I’M WATCHING HER WHILE SERIF AND VELL ARE OUT FOR THE DAY, SINCE ADDY’S A BIT…  _ EXCITABLE _ IN NEW ENVIRONMENTS,” she explained, her eyes narrowing as her gaze turned calculating.

“You seem used to this kind of behavior...” your words came out as half a question. 

Whether you were a dog person or not, you were pretty sure it wasn’t normal for a dog that couldn’t even see over your coffee table to be able to hold a fresh pot of coffee in its mouth… while doing parkour.

“WE HAVE OUR OWN DOG, BUT SHE’S BIGGER AND LESS INCLINED TO COFFEE THEFT,” she replied dryly. Before you could point out that it  _ still _ wasn’t dog standard to do something like this, she bolted forward, making another play for Addy’s capture. 

Addy, seeming to anticipate this, leapt away towards your side of the couch. You lunged for her just as quickly, and your fingers even brushed against her fur - but in a move that was the biggest flip off to the laws of physics you’d seen in your life, she somehow twisted midair and used your head as a base to push off of and jump away, sending you to the ground unceremoniously. You rolled over just in time to catch Sapphire vaulting over the back of your couch - apparently, that move had been her  _ real _ plan, and despite your ungainly fall you couldn’t help but cheer as you watched Sapphire tackle the dog at the zenith of the jump she’d used your head to complete. 

Sapphire flipped over in the air, arms tight around Addy as she pulled away your coffee pot - you braced yourself for the crash of it shattering to the ground, but instead you saw Sapphire land in a superhero-like position, sliding to a stop crouched with one knee and hand on the ground to slow her momentum. A gentle haze of bright blue surrounded your coffee pot, leaving it hovering in front of her.

“GOTCHA-!” She announced cheerfully, her grin turning crooked and decidedly pleased as she looked down to the wiggling ball of fluff tucked firmly in her arms. After a few seconds the dog stilled, flopping to a comfortable rest as if she always meant to end up in this position. Sapphire rolled her eyelights at the apparent show of it, but her smile didn’t fade.

She plucked the coffee pot out of the air like it was nothing, then set it on the counter before striding quickly over to you and once again offering you a hand up.

“I’M STARTING TO THINK YOU MIGHT LIKE TAKING MY HAND AT THIS RATE,” she said brightly, a teasing lift to her voice. Your eyes widened, your hand already in hers, and you laughed as she once more righted you.

“And  _ I’m _ starting to think I might never know a quiet week with you all as my neighbors,” you shoot back, amusement clear in your expression.

“OH STARS, I THOUGHT THAT WAS A GIVEN,” she replied, grinning as she once more readjusted her grip on Addy. Addy, to her credit, was able to twist slightly in Sapphire’s deceptively rock-solid grip during the brief window of one-armed opportunity - but now looked for all the world like she was playing it off as rolling over to have her belly up.

The dog gave you the epitome of a puppy-eyed look. Given that she  _ was _ indeed a dog, that wasn’t too surprising… but you realized your hand was already lifting to scratch her belly without even realizing it, despite the chase that had just occurred. You gasped, your hand stopping.

“... She  _ is _ crafty,” you said, looking back up to Sapphire. She snorted, her gaze twinkling as she glanced up from staring unimpressed at Addy.

“I WARNED YOU,” she said, amused. “SORRY ABOUT YOUR COFFEE BY THE WAY - I BELIEVE NONE OF IT SPILLED, AT LEAST! THOUGH IT’S PROBABLY A LITTLE COOL BY NOW, I WOULD WAGER...”

“Are you kidding me? With that crazy ninja flip you did when grabbing her and the pot midair, that’s probably the  _ coolest _ pot of coffee I’ve ever had in my kitchen.”

That startled a laugh out of Sapphire, whose gaze narrowed accusingly playfully at you. 

“DID YOU SERIOUSLY JUST PUN ABOUT THAT POT OF COFFEE?”

“C’mon, that was a  _ hot take _ ,” you said with a waggle of your brow, crossing your arms.

She groaned, but her grin grew wider.

“I KNOW YOU MET  _ THOSE _ THREE FIRST, BUT I DIDN’T THINK THEY’D GET TO YOU THIS FAST!” She sighed. “I’M GOING TO HAVE TO TALK TO MY SISTER ABOUT RUINING PERFECTLY EXCELLENT AND CUTE NEIGHBORS WITH AWFUL PUNS NOW - TALK ABOUT A  _ PUN- _ FORTUNATE FATE FOR MY AFTERNOON...”

“W- I’m not-” you paused in the middle of denying the  _ second _ compliment you’d heard of that nature from your cast of new neighbors, your own gaze narrowing suddenly. “... Did you just…?”

She shrugged, mischievously over-innocent. “A TRUE MASTER NEVER REVEALS HER SECRETS.”

You crossed to take your pot of coffee off the counter, shaking your head with a grin as another large gust of wind made your windows creak. Small patters of rain were now starting to hit your balcony, leaving it spotted with darker flecks. Thunder rolled in the far distance at the same time, and Sapphire glanced out your window. 

In the moment of quiet, your poured yourself your cup of coffee at last, your gaze slipping to your neighbor.

She stood with comfortably impeccable posture, though one hip was cocked slightly as she both supported and restrained Addy. You hadn’t turned on any lights proper in your kitchen-living area yet, thanks to the natural light filtering in through the large window and glass balcony door. It left her lit by that natural light, though it had softly faded with the darkening storm clouds. The light curved softly over the planes of her skull, a surprisingly pretty sight. You could still see the shimmer of her apparently cerulean magic over her eyesockets’ lids from this angle. The exposed bones of her arms and femurs caught the light similarly, drawing your gaze downwards curiously. For the first time you realized that while she wore thigh-high dark socks, she wasn’t wearing any shoes.

“... Did you… jump over to my balcony, by any chance?”

She seemed to be pulled out of deeper thought at your words, and she looked back to you with at first surprise, then a sheepish sort of embarrassment.

“AH… YES, I DID,” she admitted, smiling. “I WAS IN SERIF AND VELLUM’S APARTMENT TO KEEP AN EYE ON ADDY WHILE ALSO LETTING HER BECOME BETTER ACQUAINTED WITH THE NEWER SPACE - SERIF AND VELL LIVE NEXT DOOR TO YOU, WHILE AMBER AND I ARE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THEM,” she explained, seeing the brief question in your expression. “THE WEATHER SAID IT MIGHT STORM, SO I FIGURED I’D OPEN THE DOOR TO THE BALCONY FOR JUST A BIT SO SHE COULD GET FRESH AIR BEFORE THE STORM WOULD KEEP HER INSIDE THE REST OF THE DAY. SHE IS… NOT A FAN OF THEM,” she said wryly, looking down to the dog in her arms.

Addy seemed to have fallen asleep, though at this point you weren’t sure you could trust it to be more than an extremely adorable ruse. 

Sapphire just laughed, surprisingly quietly. One hand shifted, and she scratched lightly at a spot behind Addy’s ears. “I WAS CAREFUL TO NOT MAKE A SECOND POT OF COFFEE AT THEIR PLACE AFTER SHE GOT HOLD OF THE FIRST, BUT I’M GUESSING ADDY CAUGHT SCENT OF  _ YOU  _ MAKING A FRESH POT… IT’S PRETTY UNCANNY, REALLY.”

You took a long, appreciated sip of the now fully-prepared cup of coffee in your hand, settling one hip against the counter. “That dog might have a caffeine addiction,” you observed dryly, earning yourself a quiet huff of a tiny bark from the dog herself and a wink from Sapphire. 

“SHE FITS RIGHT IN WITH A LOT OF US, IF THAT’S THE CASE.”

Your brow furrowed then, and you glanced out to your balcony. “... Hold up, though. The balconies are like…  _ ten feet  _ apart. How did you - how did  _ she-?? _ ”

Sapphire snickered.

“WOULD YOU BELIEVE ME IF I WIGGLED MY FINGERS AND WHISPERED ‘ _ MAGIC’? _ ”

“... I don’t think I’d have much of a choice,” you replied helplessly, huffing your own laugh. 

There was a louder crack of thunder then, and noticeably fatter drops of rain began to drum against your balcony. Sapphire’s attention went back to your balcony at the sound, a flash of regret passing over her face.

“... I  _ DO _ BELIEVE THAT’S MY CUE - ADDY WON’T LET ME TAKE HER OUT THE DOOR IF I WAIT MUCH LONGER,” she said slowly, sighing and glancing back to you. 

You were caught by surprise at the pang of sadness that went through you. Unexpected as this encounter had been, you were… actually having fun - and without even having any coffee in you after a long week, no less. From the way Sapphire’s gaze brightened, it seemed she caught that expression before you could hide it.

“... SOMETIMES ADDY GETS OUT, AND DRAGS HADES WITH HER ON SOME ADVENTURE,” she commented then, stepping a bit closer to you, one hand slipping down and into a pocket you hadn’t noticed on her skirt. “I DON’T SUPPOSE YOU’D MIND IF I HAD YOUR NUMBER, SO I COULD PERHAPS CALL AND ASK IF YOU’D SEEN THEM WHEN IT HAPPENS NEXT?”

Her hand withdrew from the pocket, revealing a sleek cutting edge model of phone you didn’t recognize, sporting a blue and yellow cover. 

“Oh! Um, sure-” you extended your hand to accept it, and the carefully held ease in her expression relaxed into unabashed delight. Her thumb tapped quickly along the screen and she pressed it into your hand, her screen lit up on a new contact page. 

“WONDERFUL!” she said as you quickly filled in your info, cheeks a little warm. When you handed it back, her gaze went down to it, and she tapped deftly along the screen for several seconds. Your phone buzzed in your pocket as she locked her screen, and you drew it out automatically to see a message from a new number.

**_Unknown:_ ** _ Hello, delightfully dextrous cute neighbor! This is Sapphire - now you have my number as well! Please don’t hesitate to send me a message if I can ever be of assistance - or if you’d just like to talk! ♪(๑ᴖ◡ ᴖ๑)9♪ _

When you looked up, your cheeks now undeniably warmer than normal, you caught Sapphire already opening the door to your balcony and saluting you with a cheerful wink. 

“THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP, CUTE NEIGHBOR! AND MY APOLOGIES AGAIN FOR THE INCONVENIENCE!”

She started across your balcony as she snapped the door shut behind her, and you dodged around your counter and ran after her without thinking as she stepped past sight of the window. By the time you’d opened the balcony door, she was hopping down from the railing on the balcony next to yours, apparently already across the way with less trouble than she’d had getting to yours.

“Wait, Sapphire-!”

She turned, looking to you with happy surprise at seeing you follow after her. 

“YES?”

You flustered, realizing your question felt a little odd after running after her, but it spilled out of you nonetheless. “Er- why do you keep calling me cute neighbor, instead of my name?”

She blinked. Then, her smile widened.

“I WONDER?” She mused teasingly. Another clap of thunder shook the skies, and you saw Addy begin to wiggle with desperate intent as the rain tilted and began to hit Sapphire’s back. She slid open the balcony door and began to step inside, waving at you. “HAVE AN EXCELLENT AFTERNOON,  _ CUTE NEIGHBOR! _ ”

With that the door slid shut and cut off the warm laughter that went with her, and you were left to close your own door behind you. Your back met the glass and you exhaled slowly, opening up your text messages once more without thinking. 

There was a new text there already, from the same number.

**_Unknown:_ ** _ Monsters are a fan of nicknames. I look forward to getting to know you better, if given the opportunity. Perhaps there will be an even better one for you in the future - but this one is so accurate, I wonder if that’s possible!- _

… You did  _ not _ have enough coffee to process how to respond to that.

After draining your current cup and setting some breakfast up to cook, you looked back at your phone and stared at her messages. A few seconds later you opened up the contact information, and adjusted her name in your phone before finally replying.

**_You:_ ** I look forward to the chance - but I have to admit, I’m a little surprised you don’t type in all caps.

Not thirty seconds passed before you got a response.

**_Laughy Sapphi:_** _Why’s that, cute neighbor?_

You rolled your eyes, but couldn’t wipe the smile off your face. 

She was so genuine and confidently earnest in her words, you weren’t exactly sure you should take it as flirting… but it still had a warm teasing edge to it. Somehow, it wasn’t off-putting, either way. 

**_You:_** _Your voice just… *projects*, I guess? You’re confident. Heh, idk. It just felt like it would fit._

When she replied, you nearly choked on your coffee.

**_Laughy Sapphi:_** _Considering how much of a good impression you left on my lazy sister and friends the other day, I’m going to take that as the compliment I’d like to read it as! Thanks, cute neighbor. ;D_

 

* * *

 

Sapphire became something of a regular in your phone’s notifications from that point onwards. 

You’d let yourself relax for the rest of Saturday, arguing vaguely to yourself that with the storm the power might go out anyways, so it wasn’t worth risking the loss of any work progress. Sunday, though, you were back at it, the big project still on your mind. You’d had to make phone calls, check in with your client on the availability of a requested material, adjust layers of the plans as the work on actually  _ constructing _ the house began in earnest… but Sapphire had been sending you texts throughout the day, providing undeniably welcome moments to breathe in between everything you were trying to get done.

**_Laughy Sapphi:_** _I’m watching Addy again today, but decided it might be easier to have her at my place with Hades instead. As it turns out, this was a… miscalculation._

You’d had to bite down a laugh, picturing the bright-eyed skeleton surveying the chaos two dogs were capable of too well.

**_You:_** _What’s the damage report?_

There was a minute’s pause, and you’d just turned to focus back on work when your phone buzzed again. When you opened it up, there was an image attached to a single message with nothing besides a skull emoji in the text portion of it.

The picture was a selfie, with her face in the bottom right corner, partially cut off, but grinning despite the unimpressed lift of her bone brows. In the background of the picture, you could see what you assumed was her living room - warmly and cozily decorated, with string lights hung along the ceiling and what you could vaguely make out as pictures of her or her sister and your other neighbors on one part of the wall… but far more prominent were the the dogs standing on an upended couch.

One was recognizable - that bright white fluffball was unquestionably Addy. She stood perched perfectly on the back of the one that had to be Hades - and it was Hades that made your jaw quite literally drop.

Hades, meanwhile, was singlehandedly  _ the biggest dog you’d ever seen.  _

From this picture alone, you were inclined to compare the dog to the size of a small bear.  _ Was _ it part bear? Addy looked like something akin to a small pomeranian, but Hades looked like a super-sized Samoyed but with a golden belly and paws and a reddish brown coat everywhere else. Hades’ tongue was lolling happily, and the dog was posed quite proudly. With Addy on Hades’ back, they looked a little like a fluffy snow-capped fire had taken over the couch.

Before you could reply, another message popped up.

**_Laughy Sapphi:_ ** _ Hades realized I was trying to catch a spider that had crawled under the couch. Her solution was to turn it over. _

Looking at the size of that dog, you had no doubt she absolutely  _ could _ turn an entire sofa over without needing help. 

Your phone buzzed again.

**_Laughy Sapphi:_** _On the plus side, she caught the spider! They’re best friends now._

You pulled up the picture again, zooming in - and you realized that Hades was focused on something on the tip of her snout - a little black dot.

**_You:_ ** _ … Sapphire, I think you might just have the coolest dog ever. _

**_Laughy Sapphi:_ ** _ I KNOW. _

A few days passed, and it became routine for you to respond periodically to her texts throughout the day. You weren’t the most regular about it given your work, but she didn’t seem to mind, and damn if it didn’t help you through yours. Along the way you found out that apparently Hades liked to ‘solve’ things if she figured out something was wrong - which Sapphire insisted she was proud of, even alluding to the fact that Amber was  _ very literally _ dragged out of bed by Hades and carried up the stairs on her back to the kitchen for breakfast - but when Addy was involved, Hades’ solutions would inevitably become even more ‘exciting’, as she put it.

You also learned that Sapphire was very active and kept herself incredibly busy with something or other, as she seemed to be frequently out and about when she replied, and even that she had a penchant for indie folk music, pop rock, and dance remixes of everything under the sun - there had been a lot of emphasis on the necessity of a good beat in that part of your conversations. She’d also insisted just last night that you needed to watch a series of campy sci-fi movies with her at some point after you missed a reference that she said was fine, but simultaneously a devastating travesty.

In the end, it was later that week that you ran not into Sapphire, but into Addy first. Getting in from work later than usual, with the sun already setting over the horizon with the warm amber lights on the front porches of the townhouses automatically flickering on, you found Serif and Crimson lounging on Serif’s front steps, Addy sprawled between them. 

Crimson caught sight of you first, and her relaxed expression curved into a pleased grin as she lifted a hand. Some sort of cigarette hung from her mouth, but its end glowed blue, and the vague scent of it reminded you of vanilla and cloves.

“ _ oye, bonita! _ long time no see,” she greeted. You grinned as you shifted from heading towards your own door to detour to the few steps leading up to Serif’s door. Serif had looked up too, smiling at seeing your approach, lifting a hand in laidback greeting.

“Hey guys, how’s it going,” you replied before casually eyeing the dog seemingly sleeping between them. 

Despite your previous run-in with Addy - and some of the stories Sapphire had told you -  you were finding it hard to fight the urge to bend over and pet her. 

“not gonna ask to pet her?” Serif commented, her brow lifting. 

Whoops, looks like you were caught. Considering how cute Addy was, that was a fair point to be confused about. Your hand lifted to rub the back of your neck and you shrugged.

“Well, considering what happened with Sapphire the other day…” you admitted, your grin growing. “Not sure if it’s just my coffee she’s after, or what, though.”

Crimson shot a confused look to Serif, whose sockets widened before she suddenly laughed. 

“damn - ‘phire mentioned she’d had to chase after Addy regarding her smelling coffee, but i didn’t realize it was  _ yours _ ,” she said, her expression easing. 

“wait - Adz got into your apartment, sweetheart?” Crimson asked, leaning forward and propping an elbow up on her knee.

“That’s putting it lightly,” you replied, looking back to Addy. Her tail wagged, but her eyes remained closed. “I was making coffee when I looked up to see her at my balcony door - and Sapphire hanging over the railing. Next thing I know, Sapphire and I are attempting to tackle her as she dog-parkoured around my apartment with my fresh pot of coffee in her mouth!”

You gestured animatedly, voice exasperated but a laugh almost breaking free even so. Crimson’s grin was growing, while Serif looked down to Addy and tugged at one foot lightly with her brow lifting. In response Addy simply flopped to her side - her head resting on Crimson’s lap, her hind feet on Serif’s.

“She’s  _ good _ ,” you drawled, hands going to your hips and shaking your head in amusement. “I swear, I think your dog might’ve been a circus acrobat in a past life, Serif,” you added, looking to her.

She shook her head, her look wry as she leaned back on one hand, poking with her other lightly at the little black toe beans on Addy’s rear feet. “nah. pretty sure she moonlights as one in  _ this _ life.”

Snickering at that, you adjusted your laptop bag on your shoulder. 

“Must have a shift coming up shortly then, huh?” You teased, earning a huff of laughter from Serif. Your phone buzzed in your pocket, and you began to slide it out automatically, though you were still looking towards Crimson and Serif. Crimson pulled the cigarette from her mouth, winking at you.

“she wishes. it’s vanilla here ‘n i that’re breakin’ out tonight,” she said, gesturing away from the townhouse behind them vaguely.

“Oh, nice - where are you guys going?” You asked, finally caving and reaching in towards Addy with a questioning glance to Serif. Serif simply nodded, still playing idly with the soft pads of her feet. From Addy’s mild tail-wagging, she either liked it or was extremely used to it.

“gonna meet up with a couple of the others at a bar,” Crimson replied, watching with a grin as your expression melted despite yourself at how absurdly  _ soft _ Addy’s fur was. You scritched behind her ear like you’d seen Sapphire do, and her tail wagged faster. “i’d ask if you wanna go, but already agreed it’d be a small thing to talk ‘bout… eh, somethin’ or other,” she said with a shrug.

“Oh, no, don’t worry about it-! I’m definitely not looking to get in the way,” you said, surprised into stilling your hand on Addy. In response Addy’s eyes finally opened, turning to you. You started scratching her again, cocking a brow, and Addy’s eyes closed again, her mouth opening to pant happily, making you snort.

“how ‘bout another time instead, then?” Crimson said smoothly, taking another drag of her cigarette. Serif looked at her with an unreadable sort of look, but Crimson ignored her. “c’mon, even i can tell you work yourself  _ to the bone _ .”

Laughing, you shrugged, weighing the offer. “I’ll be honest, I’m pretty busy with a work project right now… but it  _ was  _ pretty fun hanging out with you guys the other day,” you admitted, smiling. Crimson’s grin went sharper, and Serif glanced away, her own grin returning.

“you’re not so bad yourself,” Serif said then, drawing your gaze. “take a page from our books - doesn’t hurt to take a  _ femur _ breaks now and then.”

When her gaze slid back to yours, some odd tension she’d held easing in her posture as her smile went crooked, you rolled your eyes playfully but found yourself grinning back even so. 

“You’re the masters of relaxing then, are you?”

“masters of  _ breaks _ ,” Serif replied with an enigmatic grin. 

“so whaddya say? care to go out another time?” Crimson offered again.

You paused for a moment but nodded. Why not, after all? You’d be down to get to know them better. If nothing else, all the sisters you’d met so far really seemed like one hell of a riot. 

“Sure, I’d be down for that some night-”

Crimson was already offering you her phone, one eye closed in an extended wink. Her phone was lit up, displaying the new contact screen.

“just in case, right? don’t wanna miss out on fillin’ ya in on a good opportunity to go out just cuz ‘m not at home.”

You lifted a brow but accepted her phone, typing in your information.

“... If you wanted my number, you  _ could’ve  _ just asked,” you replied, shooting her just as sly a look.

“‘n what’s it look like i’m gettin’,  _ cielita? _ ” she replied as you handed her phone back, lifting her own brow with a purr to her words.

That made you laugh - she had you there. You glanced to Serif as your phone buzzed, no doubt with a message from Crimson.

“Since we’re already doing this, want to share numbers?” you offered. In for a penny, and all that.

She chuckled, finally shifting to stand, scooping up Addy in her arms. “i’ll have Crim send it to me to save you some time, if that’s really alright by you, sunshine,” she replied. Without much ceremony she opened the door behind her and plopped Addy inside, earning her a disgruntled huff from the small dog that she ignored as she poked her head inside and called out, “takin’ off with Crim - be back late.” She waited until you heard something muffled in response a few seconds later. “got it. later, sis.”

She pulled back out and shut the door in Addy’s now alert and affronted face. With her hands tucking inside her pockets, she walked down the few steps to the walkway you stood on, winking at you.

“catch ya later, sunshine - have a good night,” she said, her voice low and pleasantly lilting as it always seemed to be. Crimson stood up and stretched casually before following after her, but not before lifting a loose fist with her thumb and pinky extended, pressing it closer to the side of her head in the universal sign for a phone.

“call me,” she said, winking as well.

You just laughed as they descended into the small lot in front of your townhouses. They both went to one of the spaces holding two motorcycles, and within moments had donned helmets and were revving their engines to life. They weren’t the obnoxiously loud and flashy kinds of motorcycles, but the old classic types. The next moment they’d peeled out of the spot, taking off out of the lot and down the road in a manner so practiced that you wondered if they’d been riding since the day the mountain opened up.

Musing over the fact that now  _ three  _ of your neighbors had your number you adjusted the strap on your shoulder and turned to head back to your townhouse next door. 

You were stopped by a shout before you could even reach your own steps.

“LITTLE HUMAN NEIGHBOR, THERE YOU ARE! YOU ARE RUNNING LATE TODAY??”

Glancing to your side, you saw Scarlet approaching quickly, now wearing a fashionable off-the-shoulder long-sleeve shirt with something screen printed on the front that you couldn’t quite read. 

You looked at her with mild confusion, but remained paused, one foot on your first step.

“Ah- a little?” you replied. “Though I did get caught up talking to your sister and Serif for a bit - you just missed them though, they took off just a few seconds ago-”

“MY SISTER?  _ NATURALMENTE _ , SHE WOULD BE INVOLVED IN ANY DALLYING-” Scarlet scowled as she came to a stop in front of you, her hands on her hips. Her very nearly absurd height had your head tilting back considerably to meet her gaze. “WELL, NEVER MIND. IT SHALL BE ALLOWED, _ THIS TIME, _ BUT KNOW THAT PUNCTUALITY IS KEY - EVEN IF A CERTAIN  _ INTERLOPING SISTER _ IS FAR TOO SKILLED AT CAUSING TARDINESS FOR ALL PARTIES INVOLVED. GIVEN THAT YOU WERE UNAWARE OF MY SISTER’S SKILL IN THIS CATEGORY, I SHALL ALLOW IT THIS ONCE. NOW LET’S GO.”

“... Um?” You said, your foot falling back to even ground as you turned to look at her properly. “Where?”

Her brow furrowed, and she gestured in a grand motion back towards the opposite end of the townhouses - to hers in particular, you would guess. 

“TO DINNER, OF COURSE,” she said, before crossing her arms, her head tilting slightly as her gaze narrowed. Her booted foot tapped against the walkway. “... DID YOU RECEIVE A BRAIN INJURY THAT CAUSED LOCALIZED ISSUES THAT HUMANS EXPERIENCE? WHO CAUSED IT? GIVE ME THEIR ADDRESS-”

You lifted your hands quickly, mind trying to catch up to where hers was racing ahead. “Wait- dinner? I thought you said you’d leave me a note telling me when you wanted to do it?”

You  _ also  _ didn’t entirely think she was serious when she’d brought it up when you met her, but that wasn’t exactly in question anymore.

“I DID!” she said, her scowl deepening. “ON SATURDAY, AT 10AM SHARP. I KNOCKED, BUT YOU DID NOT ANSWER-”

Damn, looked like you hadn’t dreamt up that noise after all-

“-BUT YOU DID NOT ANSWER, SO I LEFT THE NOTE TAPED TO YOUR DOOR.”

Suddenly, the timeline clicked into place.

“... You left it on my door?”

She nodded sharply, looking like she was losing any form of patience you’d been granted by apparently being approved of by her when she met you last week.

“On Saturday?”

“I ALREADY SAID THAT!”

“The day that big storm went from the early afternoon till midnight, knocking over a couple trees…?”

She opened her mouth, lifting a hand to gesture - and froze.

You sighed, your hand hitting your forehead before you pushed it back to brush your hair away from your face.

“Damn. Yeah, it must have blown away,” you said. Apologetically, you met her gaze again. “I’m sorry, Scarlet - I promise I wouldn’t have just blown you off if I’d known - hell, I would have at least confirmed, too-”

She set her hands once more on her hips.

“I KNEW I SHOULD HAVE NAILED IT. MY SISTER INSISTED THAT TAPE WOULD BE MORE ‘SURFACE APPROPRIATE’,” she groused, now directing her glare at your door, as if it had personally offended her. 

“No, no, she was right,” you laughed then, lifting your hand again. Better nip  _ that _ temptation in the bud. “It was just unfortunate the storm snatched it up-”

You were cut off suddenly as Scarlet dropped into a crouch and, as if you weighed nothing at all, picked you up and began to carry you with one arm under your thighs down the walkway away from your house. The action made you squeak -  _ you were suddenly very high up and also being carried away casually by one of your neighbors _ \- and you instinctively clung to her, one hand clutching at her red scarf, the other at her shoulder.

“Scarlet-! What are you doing?!”

She didn’t even glance up, but her voice sounded pleased.

“CONTINUING TO DINNER, OF COURSE. NO PALTRY SURFACE WEATHER EVENT STANDS A CHANCE OF RUINING THE EXCELLENTLY LAID PLANS OF  _ LA GRAN Y ATERRADORA _ V- SCARLET!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much to everyone who commented on the first chapter-!! i really didn't think that i'd get much feedback or happiness over this fic, so getting to read fellow wlw/sapphic-lovin' peeps say such sweet things and show interest over these lilytale skeleladies made my heart grow at least a dozen sizes. TvT <3 seriously, the reason i was able to get this chapter out within a week was because of your comments! that trend will _definitely_ continue, so let me know what you're feeling after this chapter, and know you're feeding the heck outta my hopeful muse.  <3
> 
> in other news - you now have three skeleton's numbers and are being whisked away in a fourth's arms. dogs prove to be a sapphic lady's best friend despite caffeine and couch struggles, and even nature can't dampen certain dinner plans. 
> 
> ... the question is, how perfectly can a dinner go when this group is involved~? ;D


	3. In Which Two's Company, and Five's Definitely Fate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: in case it isn’t clear yet, something that might help out to see more visually is the order of the townhouses you & the lilytale crew live in! In order, left to right, we have-
> 
> [Fell Sisters] [Swapfell Sisters] [Swap Sisters] [Tale Sisters] [You]
> 
>  
> 
> with yours & the fell sister’s outer/unconnected walls being the end of the row. There’s a small parking area below a walled incline and a walkway in front of the row of townhouses. The back of them each have a balcony that doesn’t extend too far (just a couple of paces), but is decently long… with about 8-10 feet (2,4 - 3 meters) space between them. Just for reference… for no reason in particular, of course~

“Scarlet - you don’t have to-”

“NONSENSE, LITTLE HUMAN! DINNER IS MADE. THE PLANS WERE SET. THE ABSURDITIES OF ‘ _WEATHER_ ’ POSE NO THREAT TO THEM.”

“No, I mean-”

“-TO SAY THAT YOU ARE SORRY FOR NOT BEING PREPARED FOR THE EVENT? WELL, YES, THAT IS GRAVELY DISAPPOINTING. BUT IT IS THE STORM THAT HAS OFFENDED ME, AS WELL AS THAT MISERABLE _TAPE_ . CLEARLY, NAILING THE NOTE TO YOUR DOOR _WOULD_ HAVE BEEN THE BETTER OPTION-”

“-Scarlet, I can walk!”

Your neighbor stopped in her tracks.

Her gaze went to you, still holding you without effort with one of her arms scooped under your thighs. With your hands tangled up in her scarf and clutching her shoulders, your hair mussed a little wildly from the sudden action, and your laptop bag slung haphazardly over your shoulder, you were sure you posed quite the sight.

She seemed to consider you for a moment, her face unreadable.

“... YES, YOU CAN,” she agreed finally.

She began walking again, still carrying you.

“Oh my god.”

Wondering what on earth your life had become, you shook your head, still clutching just a little _too_ tightly to Scarlet despite the fact that she hadn’t fumbled in her grip whatsoever. Considering how best to reason with a seemingly nonplussed skeleton to convince her that your legs did in fact operate, quite well thank you, was turning this moment into a considerably surreal experience.  Seconds later, however, the sound of a front door unlocking drew your attention back up.

“SCARLET, WHO ARE YOU SHOUTING TOOOooo…. oh. OH...? MY? GOD??”

A new tall skeleton woman locked gazes with you.

She appeared in the doorway of the townhouse that shared a wall with yours - Serif and her sister’s, you remembered. Her height _had_ to rival Scarlet’s and Amber’s, given that she was forced to duck slightly to navigate the doorframe. A cute skirt shifted around her femurs with her movements, and she sported a scarf of an even brighter red than Scarlet’s, as well as matching gloves and she had - _stars_ you were almost certain those were some kind of adorable skeletal freckles over her cheekbones, just like Serif had.

“Um-”

You pat Scarlet’s shoulder with a vaguely ineffectual urgency, your words failing you. Adult life had taught you many ways of addressing awkward situations and greeting unexpected strangers one way or another, but this was completely new territory…. the kind you were starting to wonder if you were going to become used to addressing. For now though there was simply no place to start, and the skeleton you’d locked gazes with had her jaw literally hanging open…

Yeah, you weren’t equipped to handle any of the explanations that could possibly come out of your mouth, given that this latest neighbor was staring at you, a strange human she’d never met, being carried along the walkway a scant 20 feet away, in the arms of presumably one of her close friends.

Scarlet’s head turned, and with nothing more dramatic than a disgruntled huff, she paused for the second time.

“WHAT IS IT, VELLUM?”

Vellum’s gaze at last tore away from you, switching to Scarlet, who now had her free hand propped on one hip, body half-turned to look back towards her.

The fact that she _really was_ carrying you with only one arm struck you hard at that moment. Absurdly, you wondered - did… did skeleton monsters have to exercise to get strong? Was it a natural thing? You’d read or heard somewhere in these past couple years since their surfacing that monsters were made largely of magic with only a little physical dust and therefore didn’t have the same kind of physical limits humans had, but surely…

… The sudden mental image of Scarlet _pumping iron_ had you choking to hide the laugh that nearly burst out of you. Mercifully, she seemed distracted by her friend, and didn’t look twice.

“WHY ARE YOU KIDNAPPING A HUMAN, SCARLET?”

“I’M NOT KIDNAPPING HER.”

“WHY ARE YOU BODILY TRANSPORTING A HUMAN, SCARLET?”

“I’M HAVING HER FOR DINNER.”

“... I?? HAVE QUESTIONS???”

“I HAVE DINNER WAITING.”

“... PLEASE TELL ME CRIMSON’S WORDPLAY HAS NOT GOTTEN TO YOU TOO AFTER ALL THIS TIME-”

“WHAT DO YOU…” Scarlet’s face went from unimpressed and mildly annoyed to reflecting her namesake in a _brilliant way_ . “ _¡MALDITA INFIERNO! POR QUIÉN ME TOMA?_ I AM _NOT-”_

Scarlet had gone completely rigid, and when you glanced at her, there was a haze of bright translucent red over her cheekbones. It was hard to say whether she was angry or flustered - there was after all the disadvantage of her being a skeleton you’d only met once.

The other skeleton - Vellum - lifted her hands, suddenly grinning with the look of someone who’d just stumbled upon a treasure they didn’t know they’d been looking for.

“OF COURSE- OF COURSE! THAT WOULD BE UNTHINKABLE,” she said. Her voice was as arresting of your attention as both Scarlet’s and Sapphire’s. With an appearance and mannerisms as charming as they were polite and sweet, she simply emanated an aura that felt like _trust_ … but there was a glimmer to her gaze that forced you to wonder if she was anything like her sister in the teasing department.

Her sockets widened suddenly then and her eyelights turned to you, focused and sharp - and warmed by an utterly _delighted_ look. “THEN… I DON’T SUPPOSE THIS WOULD BE OUR CUTE NEW NEIGHBOR, WOULD IT??”

You grinned sheepishly and tentatively lifted a hand to wave at her.

“Nice to meet you?”

“HELLO-!!” Without further pause she had closed the door behind her and leapt down the small stairs in front of her door gracefully, her stride not breaking as she closed the distance between you. Scarlet was scowling, but turned to face her properly at last - angling you slightly away from Vellum in the process. Vellum seemed only more delighted to be closer regardless, though, and she clasped her hands in front of her as she looked to where you were still perched in Scarlet’s arms. “I’VE HEARD ABOUT YOU, BUT I DON’T THINK ANY WORDS COULD DO YOU JUSTICE! I AM THE GREAT VELLUM - PLEASED TO MAKE YOUR ACQUAINTANCE AT LAST, CUTE NEW NEIGHBOR HUMAN!”

Her energy felt like it could very well bring back the setting sun. You couldn’t help but smile a little helplessly at her, introducing yourself properly in return. Her hands went to her cheekbones, gasping lightly and beaming.

“WHAT A BEAUTIFUL NAME, I LOVE IT, CUTE NEIGHBOR!” Her hands went to her hips then, still smiling sunnily. “SERIF HAD TALKED ABOUT YOU, AND THEN SAPPHIRE AS WELL, AND EVEN AMBER AND CRIMSON MENTIONED YOU-” She nodded herself before her attention zeroed in on Scarlet, who was looking increasingly impatient. Her brow raised, but Vellum simply tsked good-naturedly at her. “SCARLET!! I KNEW YOU WERE GETTING MORE INGREDIENTS FOR SOMETHING IMPORTANT THIS MORNING, GIVEN THAT SAPPHIRE, PEPPER, AND GLYPH HAD ALREADY GONE TO THE STORE - ‘STOCKING UP,’ MY COCCYX! YOU WERE PREPARING DINNER FOR OUR CUTE NEIGHBOR, WEREN’T YOU?”

An impish twinkle had entered Vellum’s eyelights, and she had narrowed her eyesockets at her friend, looking no less pleased than she’d been the entire time. Scarlet’s brow drew down, the magical haze on her cheekbones renewing itself as she scowled.

“SHE HAS EXPRESSED EXCELLENT TASTE. AFTER THE ABYSMAL SHOW OF PIZZA-SHARING THAT CERTAINLY PUT TO QUESTION THE _BETTER_ TASTE OF THOSE OF US CONCERNED WITH TRUE QUALITY IN CUISINE, IT BECAME CLEAR THAT ENSURING SHE KNEW THAT THERE ARE THOSE OF US WITH _REFINED_ PALETTES!”

Her eyesockets had closed, her face tilting off towards another direction. She was an adept speaker under pressure, you had to admit - even if you were curious just how much that red magic tinting her cheekbones gave away.

Vellum looked to you, bone brows raising. “YOU HAVEN’T YET HAD OUR COOKING??” Her bright expression turned horrified. She might as well have just been told all of her belongings had been thrown in a volcano. “STARS - THIS MUST BE FIXED!!”

Immediately she turned around, long strides carrying her back to her doorway as Scarlet’s eyesockets snapped open.

“ _OYE, ESPERA-_ WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING??”

Vellum was already bounding into her and Serif’s apartment, the door hanging open as she disappeared up the stairs. You saw a flash of white dart up the stairs as Addy appeared from one of the two small rooms on the ground floor to chase Vellum up towards the kitchen and living space on the second floor. Vellum’s voice echoed behind her, barely muffled by the walls. “I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF PREPARING SPAGHETTI- RUNNING LATER THAN USUAL SINCE SERIF LEFT, BUT I WAS JUST ABOUT TO PUT IN SOME FRESH GARLIC BREAD-!”

Several pans and dishes clattered about inside.

“Maybe the walls really _are_ well soundproofed,” you mused, staring at the open doorway. If her voice carried that well but you didn’t hear anything any other time while you were in your own apartment, you were left with a sudden deep appreciation for whatever was stuffed between the walls of the townhouses.

“... DAMN, I RAN OUT OF GARLIC,” Scarlet muttered to herself. “GARLIC BREAD _WOULD_ BE AN APPROPRIATE ADDITION…”

If not for the fact that her voice could have been heard by a stage audience, you’d think she was muttering to herself. As it was, you lifted your brow, looking down to her from the perch you’d almost forgotten you were in.

“Scarlet, you really don’t have to treat me to dinner like this,” you tried to reason, concerned, but she cut you off with a wave of her free hand.

“NONSENSE. IT IS ALREADY DONE, AND I MUST ENSURE YOUR PALETTE IS IN COMPLETE COMPREHENSION OF FLAVORS FAR MORE ADVANCED THAN _PIZZA_ ,” she rolled her eyes, her dry gaze going up to you with a light scoff. “A NEW ABODE, BROKEN IN BY NOT A FEAST, BUT A MEAL OF _PIZZA?_ I WOULD BE ASHAMED IF NOT FOR THE FACT THAT I’M ALREADY USED TO MY SISTER’S TENDENCIES TOWARDS THE IRREVERENT.”

A grin pulled at your lips as she huffed. “Well, to be fair, Crimson ordered so many pizzas I think it might have counted as a feast regardless.”

Scarlet scoffed, but you caught a slight creasing to the corner of her eyesockets as she looked away with an expression just a little too warm to be considered impassive.

“... YES, WELL,” she said vaguely. After a moment she sighed heavily, and looked back towards Vellum’s open door. “VERY WELL. A FEAST IT IS - HURRY UP, VELLUM, AND MEET US IN MY-”

Suddenly Vellum’s presence was filling the doorway, having descended stairs impossibly fast, carrying no less than four pots, two trays of what you strongly suspected were _fresh-baked_ loaves of garlic bread, an unmarked but stylized bottle of some form of liquor, and an apron hung loosely around her neck.

“I AM READY!!” She announced, looking proud. Her head turned, and she called out, “I SHALL BE AT SCARLET’S! BE GOOD! NO EXPLOSIONS!!”

You were almost confused for a moment before you saw Addy’s fluffy white fur on the staircase. Forcing back a giggle at how adamantly yet cheerfully Vellum had apparently told her dog to behave herself, you watched as Vellum stepped onto the steps leading to her front door while it snapped shut and locked behind her.

Your phone buzzed in your pocket again, reminding you that you had received some notifications earlier before Scarlet had unceremoniously scooped you up. Your inadvertent mode of transport had turned around and began to stride towards her townhouse once again. Under the reasonable assumption that her hold was your new temporary home now, you gave up the ghost and tentatively released your grip on her shoulders with one hand just long enough to fumble around to your back pocket and take out your phone.

“OH, ARE YOU LOOKING TO GET MY NUMBER, CUTE NEIGHBOR??”

You glanced up, eyes widening as you met Vellum’s gaze over Scarlet’s shoulder. Despite how full her arms were (how hot were those pots? didn’t she say she had been in the middle of cooking??) she looked untroubled - outright excited at her assumption, in fact. You hadn’t had the chance yet to look at the texts you received, but in the face of that kind of smile…

“... I’d be happy to,” you replied with a smile in return, almost laughing. At this rate, you were going to have more skeletons to regularly text than humans - though it wasn’t proving a problem so far.

Vellum provided her number to you as you fumbled to bring up your contacts page fast enough, punching it in and sending her a text. When a chime went off in a pocket you couldn’t see, you thought her jaw might clean fall off for how wide she smiled.

“EXCELLENT!! I OF COURSE HAVE MANY MANY FRIENDS TO TEXT-” She glanced off to one side, and you lifted a brow with a grin at the way she wheedled the phrasing, “-BUT TO ADD YOU WILL BE A JOY! ONCE I PUT DOWN THESE POTS PLEASE EXPECT AN ANSWER POSTHASTE!!”

It seemed moot to point out the fact that you’d still be in the same room, so you simply nodded at her enthusiasm.

You had to admit, it felt kind of nice to have someone _that_ excited to text you. But speaking of someone texting you…

With a few taps you drew up your messages - and laughed, missing the fact that Scarlet was carrying you inside now.

 **_Laughy Sapphi:_ ** _I returned home, to find my sister has gone off for the night already. Naturally, this means that the last piece of the pie she made earlier is for me, right?_

 **_Laughy Sapphi:_ ** _Given that she ate the last of my empanadas yesterday, I do believe fair is fair._

You snickered at the justice of that. There was a break of a few minutes in the timestamps, and then-

 **_Laughy Sapphi:_ ** _Oh dear. If you hear Scarlet yelling, don’t worry about it. That’s just her excited voice. Though I’m curious about what she’s excited about. You’ve met her, right?_

 **_Laughy Sapphi:_ ** _Actually, I just opened my balcony window… I can smell lasagna. She might be trying to get Pepper involved in another cookoff…_

The latest messages had come nearly all at once:

 **_Laughy Sapphi:_ ** _Odd. Pepper has informed me that she hasn’t heard from Scarlet, and is in fact in the middle of making her own dinner…_

 **_Laughy Sapphi:_ ** _Oh. Oh stars._

 **_Laughy Sapphi:_ ** _Please tell me she hasn’t kidnapped you, cute neighbor._

You were startled from reading your phone at a loud sound. Having been distracted by Sapphire’s texts, you realized that you were now inside Scarlet’s townhouse, at the edge of the kitchen overlooking an upstairs living area layout identical to your own but for the furniture decorating it- but you didn’t get a chance to take in the style of the place as the source of your surprise continued knocking against the balcony door.

Mouth dropping open, you locked gazes with Sapphire, peering with squinted eyesockets through the partially drawn curtains. Her expression lit up at seeing you before she cupped her hands around her mouth.

_“SCARLET, WHAT DID WE TELL YOU ABOUT KIDNAPPING PEOPLE!!”_

Your eyes darted down to Scarlet at _that_ particular phrasing.

“STOP POUNDING ON THE GLASS, YOU’RE GOING TO SHATTER IT AGAIN! AND THIS ISN’T _KIDNAPPING,_ THIS IS FEASTING!!”

Scarlet, scowling, gestured to the food you hadn’t yet noticed on the counter in front of you and to the food Vellum was hurriedly setting on the stove before she turned just as swiftly to sprint towards the balcony, looking perfectly pleased to see her friend on her other friend’s balcony.

“Hey Sapphire,” you greeted helplessly as Vellum slid the door open. Scarlet meanwhile muttered something under her breath about ‘ _CAN’T HAVE A PROPER DINNER IN THE FIRST PLACE, NOW CAN’T HAVE ONE IN PEACE EVEN IN THIS LUGAR TAN TRANQUILO.…’_ and rustled her free hand through a drawer in search of something.

You tried not to grin at her clear tendency towards grumbling about things messing up her plans.

“I was just about to text you back - got a little, uh, _caught up_ , if you can’t tell.”

Vellum’s head snapped up, a focused look to her expression as her eyelights shifted between Sapphire and you. Sapphire rolled her eyelights briefly at your only slightly accidental pun, but smiled. “NEVER FEAR, CUTE NEIGHBOR! I WASN’T IN A RUSH FOR A REPLY, BUT AFTER THE SHOUTING, AND SOME MATH ABOUT YOUR USUAL COMMUTE TIME SINCE YOU HAD SENT ME THE MESSAGE WHEN YOU WERE LEAVING YOUR PLACE OF WORK, I REALIZED THE PROBABILITY OF YOU GETTING _CAUGHT UP_ -” she gestured towards your place in Scarlet’s arms, Sapphire’s expression turning a little wry as her sockets narrowed for a split second. The next her expression had smoothed though, and she shook her head. “-AND, WELL, I HEARD VELLUM SHOUTING, AND THE DOOR CLOSE, AND - I MEAN, TACTICALLY SPEAKING, THE BALCONY _IS_ FASTER-”

“JUST USE THE DOOR, YOU HEATHEN!!” Scarlet brandished a spatula at Sapphire, her chest puffing out as she scowled. “I SWEAR, YOU’RE WORSE THAN _MI HERMANA-”_

Sapphire stepped fully into the living room, her hand extending behind her to rest on the sliding door’s handle, though at Scarlet’s words she paused before closing it. Her grin had gone devilishly wide - yet with how cheerful her expression was, you were left with the distinct impression that your texting buddy of the past week was really some sort of chaotic-good trickster goddess.

“WHY SCARLET, WHAT _DO_ YOU CALL THIS, THEN?” Sapphire said slyly, stepping slightly to the side to gesture to the balcony door. “I DO BELIEVE IT IS A _DOOR_ , IS IT NOT? ERGO - I MUST NOT BE A HEATHEN, AFTER ALL.”

Your hand clapped over your mouth. One eyesocket twitching slightly, Scarlet narrowed her sights at Sapphire. Meanwhile, Vellum was simply striding back towards the kitchen, grinning and clearly of the mind that her spaghetti was more important to finish than anything else.

As she passed she tossed you a wink and a very exaggerated thumbs up.

These women really did seem more like one big family than a group of friends who were paired as sisters. Monsters were a lot more open and community-based than most modern humans, yet still there was something about the easy way they interacted with one another that it was impossible to feel like a third - or fifth - wheel.

“DO NOT GET TRICKY WITH YOUR SEMANTICS, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN-”

“NOTHING TRICKY ABOUT IT, SCARLET! SIMPLY POINTING OUT YOUR OWN EXTREMELY VALID WORD CHOICE-”

A sudden vibration shook through the floor and interrupted Scarlet’s comeback as a figure backlit by the last of the sun’s rays rose from a crouch behind Sapphire and threw the balcony door fully open once more.

“ _ARE YOU FEASTING WITHOUT ME?!_ ”

The booming voice was rich and sharp, nearly felt as clearly as the vibrations of what must have been her landing on the balcony. Sapphire had stumbled as the door tore free of her casual grip, and she wheeled around with the hand going to her hip to face the newcomer.

“I ALREADY ASKED IF YOU’D EATEN YET, PEPPS!”

Your vantage point gave you the perfect view of the new arrival, her hands bracing against the door frame and the door itself. She wore a thick cable-knit scarf with a stylish, muted sweater slouching artfully off one shoulder. Starry tights were the only thing she wore under a pair of black short-shorts, and given the fact that she too had arrived on the balcony and was without shoes, you could only assume this was one of the few neighbors you’d yet to meet now - one unrelated to either of these three. A striking scar, one perhaps even larger than the ones slashed over Scarlet’s left eyesocket, cut across her left eye as well.

“NONSENSE!” she announced definitively. “YOU ASKED IF I WAS HAVING A BATTLE DINNER WITH SCARLET, TO WHICH I REPLIED THAT I WAS PREPARING A NEW RECIPE AND HAD BETTER THINGS TO DO THAN YET AGAIN SHOW HER HOW MUCH BETTER MY CUISINE IS! THAT’S NOT THE SAME QUESTION AT ALL!”

Scarlet laughed out loud at that, startling your attention back to her - it was a single laugh, bright and almost _obscenely_ pleased despite the apparent jab at her cooking.

“ _SEMANTICS_ , SAPPHIRE,” she asserted, looking like the cat that caught the canary as Sapphire grimaced for a moment. Not one to recover slowly, though, Sapphire opened her arms wide, gesturing sweepingly as Scarlet went back to rolling her eyelights.

“YOU’VE GOT ME THERE, PEPPER,” Sapphire said, looking to the new arrival - who you then realized had taken to staring at you intensely. Sapphire caught this, and grinned, her arm suddenly looping around Pepper’s shoulders and leading her into the room proper. “OF COURSE- NEITHER YOU NOR CINNAMON’S GOTTEN THE CHANCE TO MEET OUR CUTE NEW NEIGHBOR, RIGHT?”

Only the briefest instinct to protest passed through you at the continued use of the descriptor before you gave up. You were getting the distinct feeling that this was a particular nickname you weren’t going to escape anytime soon.

“HER?” Pepper had leaned in towards Sapphire conspiratorially. It took you a second to realize she was actually whispering - or rather, attempting to. Her voice was just as clear and commanding of attention as the voices of the other three in the room, though this particular word had been uttered with a lower tone, one of the few indicators that it wasn’t wholly intended to be blatant.

Nevertheless, you answered with a shrug, grinning at her as she was drawn close. “Me,” you said, huffing a wry laugh. “Not sure I live up to the nickname, but-”

She waved her hand in a short, mitigating flap. “NOT THE CASE,” she said simply, short, causing you to stare at her - as she stared at you. Her gaze studied you intensely. Truth be told, you felt a little less like a person and more like… some piece in a museum on display, one that was new to a regular visitor with a sharp eye for any potential out-of-place details.

You paused, but when your gaze flickered towards Sapphire in confusion and uncertainty at whether to be vaguely insulted or not, she just shook her head in reassurance and grinned. Given how familiar you’d become with Sapphire over the past week or so, you decided to trust her, and turned your attention back to Pepper. After a beat you introduced yourself, drawing her focus back to the moment.

“... PEPPER,” she stated, nodding sharply. “I HOPE OUR ACQUAINTANCESHIP IS WELL MET.”

“... Er, same to you?” you ventured, the phrasing not making much sense.

She simply nodded again, but her posture eased slightly. Her arms crossed and she looked to Sapphire, standing at her side with her arm looped around her shoulders comfortably.

… Huh. They actually looked really similar. What had Serif said…? They were _like_ family - maybe skeleton monsters just tended to have strongly transferred features even outside of families...

“SO, YOU _ARE_ FEASTING, THEN?” Pepper pressed, her mouth twisted. She hadn’t yet smiled, though her intense presence seemed more settled now.

Sapphire glanced around, noting properly the covered food Scarlet already had prepared in wait on the counter, and Vellum conducting her finishing touches. When Pepper’s gaze followed suit, Vellum glanced over her shoulder in the brief pause, waving a gloved hand and a ladle with a bright, “GREETINGS, PEPPER!”

Pepper nodded, and Sapphire grinned. “I THINK SO,” Sapphire nodded conclusively.

Scarlet’s mouth pressed in a jagged line.

“... HAVE EITHER OF YOU EATEN YET?” she asked, her sockets narrowing. To your surprise, she at last shifted, lowering you to the ground. The motion was completed without her gaze breaking from the two shorter skeleton women, and you were hit with the realization that you hadn’t grown uncomfortable in her hold, despite her being made of, well, _bone_. Her hold on you had felt oddly warm too, and while you set down your bag in relief and stretched instinctively upon being set on your feet, you kind of missed the feeling for a flicker of a second.

To distract yourself from that odd thought, you looked back to Sapphire and Pepper. Pepper had taken to grimacing, and Sapphire had crossed her arms behind her back, looking guiltily off towards one side.

“YOU _HAVEN’T_ ,” Scarlet said, her words slow and hinted with a warning edge you didn’t quite understand.

“WELL, I WAS BUSY WITH HADES,” Sapphire said, still looking away. “AND SINCE AMBER WASN’T EATING AT HOME TONIGHT, YOU KNOW…”

Pepper’s expression simply pulled until she huffed. “... CINNAMON IS OUT AS WELL. I WAS SIMPLY… TAKING MY TIME.”

You jumped as Scarlet’s spatula-wielding hand descended to the countertop, smacking it sharply. When you glanced up to her, her gaze was nothing short of _fiery_.

“MISERABLE EXCUSES,” she declared. “ _ESTRELLAS, AYUDA ME-_ THIS SHALL BE RECTIFIED. YOU ARE JOINING US FOR DINNER.”

Her declaration was nothing short of set in stone, and Sapphire’s expression lit up while Pepper nodded in agreement, as matter-of-factly as if they were proposed battle plans.

“I’M GLAD I MADE THE EXTRA NOODLES,” Vellum said matter-of-factly, stirring one of the pots as she lifted a lid on the other. The smell in the kitchen, already vaguely pleasant from the lasagna Scarlet must have made, intensified with whatever herbs and savory ingredients Vellum had put into her sauce.

“Oh god, it _already_ smelled good in here,” you murmured, glancing from Scarlet’s covered lasagna to Vellum’s current projects. Next to you Scarlet’s already impeccable posture straightened slightly.

“OF COURSE IT SMELLS GOOD-!” she asserted, but nevertheless there was a pleased edge to her voice that made you grin. She might have an ego, but damn if she didn’t apparently earn it in cooking at least. You just had to cross your fingers that it would taste as good as it smelled…

… and _looked_.

Your jaw dropped as Scarlet uncovered the lasagna on the counter in front of you. Perfectly cheesy, golden and clearly only _just_ arriving at that ‘perfectly cooled’ stage, she lifted it in her gloved hands and rounded the counter, carrying it to the small but beautiful handmade wooden dining table situated against the wall. As it turned out, _all_ the decor was like that - basic enough, either handmade or certainly well-used and cared for, but impeccable in its taste. You got the feeling it largely reflected Scarlet’s sense of style, but there were a few decorations about the room that caught your eye as something Crimson had felt strongly enough about to contribute.

Regardless, your eyes were on that lasagna. That thing should be in an _art gallery_.

“W-WELL, NATURALLY, BUT FOOD SHOULDN’T BE WASTED,” Scarlet said, her gaze quickly turning away from you.

… Woops. You hadn’t meant to say that gallery comment aloud.

You laughed sheepishly and rubbed at the back of your neck. Sapphire came up to you and bumped her hip against yours, the motion casual and familiar, despite you only having properly met her in person the one time. Still, you bumped her hip back - given your texting log the past week, you felt like you had known her for a lot longer than that already. She had a knack for drawing responses from you despite how busy you found yourself, and you had found she was incredibly easy to talk to even in messaging form.

“SO, YOU LIKE NOODLE DISHES, CUTE NEIGHBOR?” She asked, leaning against the counter. Pepper’s attention was drawn to the two of you, and she approached as well, leaning against the adjacent side of the counter.

“I mean, what’s not to love?” you said, grinning. “There’s all kinds of dishes, and I’ve liked most I’ve tried - though of course lasagna and spaghetti are high up on the list,” you added, glancing towards Scarlet and Vellum. The former nodded approvingly, in the middle of leaning into the nearby pantry to retrieve something, while Vellum turned to you.

“YOU REALLY DO HAVE EXCELLENT TASTE!” Vellum said, eyelights sparkling. “I KNEW YOU WOULD BE A GOOD NEIGHBOR JUST FROM THE SOUND OF YOU, BUT IT’S ALWAYS NICE TO HAVE YOUR THEORIES CONFIRMED!” She nodded too, more towards herself in pride as she turned back to the oven to place the garlic bread inside for heating. Left uncertain as to how to respond to that kind of praise, you simply looked back to Sapphire and Pepper with slightly warmer cheeks.

“I like to try things at least once, too, I suppose, in most cases,” you said, gesturing aimlessly.

Sapphire leaned closer to you, her grin widening. “WELL THEN, CUTE NEIGHBOR, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT EATING TACOS?”

Before you could even respond, you heard Pepper make a choked noise. Both yours and Sapphire’s gazes went to her, and Vellum’s and Scarlet’s, though you didn’t notice the latter two. Recovering was _not_ a smooth affair for her in this circumstance, though the flair with which she tried to pull it off - including clearing a throat that didn’t exist, and humming as she adjusted her scarf - was commendable. Your brow lifted as a subtle haze of purple lifted to her sharp cheekbones -

\- and then you and Sapphire got it in the same instant.

Your face flared with heat as a strangled laugh caught in your chest, and Sapphire’s eyelights winked out for the barest moment as her face flushed cerulean. In a movement too fast to follow, she’d whacked Pepper on the shoulder, only succeeded in making Pepper break down into another choked sound, turning away with a slight tremble in her shoulders you _knew_ had to be laughter.

“PEPPER, I SWEAR TO TORIEL-” Sapphire’s voice nearly broke, but despite her expression and the pinpricks her eyelights had returned and you could see her trying to fight back her own laughter.

Pepper waved a hand, her expression still hidden by her turned posture.

“NO, PLEASE - GO ON, SAPPHIRE, ASK OUR _NEW CUTE NEIGHBOR_ ABOUT _TACO-RELATED PASTIMES,”_ she said, her voice almost comical with how deadpan-measured it was. “CLEARLY, A CRITICAL TOPIC, IS IT NOT-”

“OH PLEASE, DON’T ACT LIKE YOU WEREN’T DYING TO ASK HER OPINION ON _FIT-TO-BURST BURRITOS-_ ”

Sapphire was half-grappling Pepper at this point, her voice shaking with laughter she was failing at holding back. Your hand was covering your mouth, wheezing as you tried to bite back the laughter of the absurd moment - talk about an ice breaker-

Behind you Scarlet half slammed the pantry door close, stalking behind you and around the counter to smack the back of Sapphire and Pepper’s heads with a stack of cloth napkins she’d retrieved. Her cheekbones were red, and she was scowling, but you swore you saw a twitch to the corner of her jagged mouth.

“NO! NO PUNS AT THIS DINNER!!” she growled before moving to the table - she’d been setting it this entire time you realized, complete with candles, various drinks, mats for the food Vellum was preparing, plates, silverware - she was struggling to focus though at the antics and shifted instead to turn on some music in the background. Your attention was quickly drawn to the stove NEXT as Vellum accidentally knocked over a pepper shaker noisily onto the adjacent counter.

Her shoulders were shaking, a poorly-suppressed grin on her face, brilliant orange hazing her freckled cheekbones as she tried to fix the mess.

“F- OH _BISCUITS-_ ” she managed to say, voice shaking like Sapphire’s as Sapphire burst into outright laughter.

“DAMMIT, PEPPS - NOW VELL’S GOT A _PEPPER MESS_ ON THE COUNTER BECAUSE OF YOUR PUNS-”

You caught the side of Pepper’s face and for just a moment, a glimpse of a sharp, devilish grin that had spread on her face before her back was to you again as she shoved at Sapphire.

“NO PUNS - _YOU’RE_ THE ONE WITH THE FREUDIAN SLIPS-”

“ _PEPPER I SWEAR I WILL TELL CINNAMON ABOUT YOUR STASH OF-”_

“WE NEED ALCOHOL!!”

Pepper announced this with all the bravado and confidence of a woman commanding a hall of vikings, rather than one who had just clapped a hand tightly over her friend’s mouth.

A moment later she turned around, whatever expression she’d had having schooled over into something far more neutral. Managing to get your own snickering at the antics of these women under control, you met Pepper’s sudden attention with an impossible to hide grin. She pointed dramatically at you before gesturing grandly to the side.

“NEIGHBOR HUMAN! YOU DRINK?”

“I mean, sure-”

“EXCELLENT! WAIT HERE, I SHALL RETURN!”

The moment her hand released Sapphire she was bolting out the still-open balcony door, and you caught the sight of her deftly jumping up onto the railing before she disappeared - apparently successfully making the obscene jump to the next balcony over, presumably her own.

Unable to help it, you laughed openly at last, your palm lifting to your face.

“Okay - is it _always_ like this when you get together?”

“ONLY ON THE BEST OF DAYS!” Vellum answered cheerfully as she passed behind you, carrying two large bowls that smelled far too good to be fair, which she set on the table. “AND WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE, HOW CAN THEY NOT _ALWAYS_ BE THE BEST OF DAYS?”

She winked at you, hands framing her hips as Scarlet moved to adjust the bowls’ placements on the table. She’d procured a wooden circle that now held all the gathered food so far - a turntable, you realized, that allowed the growing feast to be easily spun to be accessed from all parts of the table. Apparently, Scarlet was the type to be _prepared_.

“Pretty hard to argue with that logic,” you responded with a grin. “It’s so… lively,” you admitted, looking back to Sapphire. “I haven’t really been around a group of friends like this in… longer than is worth thinking about.”

Sapphire’s bright eyelights were steady on you, her expression shifting subtly from one of lingering amusement to something softer, something understanding. She probably had the best chance of picking up on the fact that you didn’t exactly have any close friends right now - between how busy you were at work and a number of other life circumstances, it really _had_ been a long time since you’d been in a setting comfortable with a close group of friends, even as a welcomed outsider.

“WELL, IT’S PERFECT THAT YOU’VE GOT SUCH A GROUP TO BE OFFICIALLY DRAGGED INTO NOW, ISN’T IT?” she responded simply, crossing her arms. She looked a little proud, and you shook your head with an embarrassed huff of a laugh.

“I mean, the last thing I want to do is impose-”

“NONSENSE!” It was Vellum’s voice that cut in with the familiar word this time, and you nearly startled at the sound as she leaned over your side, standing just a pace away from directly behind you. Despite how loud her voice was, there was a warmth to it that kept it from even approaching irritating - and with such a friendly and adamantly happy expression on her face, you couldn’t help but feel she really was nothing but genuine. “THIS MAY BE THE FIRST MEAL WE’RE SHARING, BUT THAT SIMPLY MEANS WE ARE KICKING OFF A FRIENDSHIP MEANT TO LAST!” She waved her hands as if doing jazz hands, making Sapphire chuckle. “A FRIENDSHIP DEIGNED BY FATE! THE STARS SHALL SHINE WITH THE CONSTELLATIONS OF HOW GRAND AN ADVENTURE IT SHALL PROVE TO BE! SONGS SHALL BE WRITTEN ABOUT IT AND PASSED THROUGH THE AGES!”

“WE _DO_ HAVE CONNECTIONS ON THAT LAST ONE,” Sapphire added with a wink.

A thump on the balcony drew your attention in that direction, and you had to doubletake as you were granted the incredible tableau of Pepper rising once more from a deft crouch, this time with a leather sling full of bottles of liquor crossed over her body, a large skein of an unknown alcohol strapped to her hip, a cask of mead hefted effortlessly over her shoulder, and several more unique bottles of liquor in her other arm, glimmering with the light of the stars slowly coming into view in the night sky behind her.

“AN ACQUAINTANCESHIP BEGUN WITH A SHARED DRINK IS DESTINED FOR GREATNESS,” she declared, striding into the room. None of the other three seemed at all taken aback by her retrieved goods, though Scarlet did nod approvingly.

You were left a little speechless as Pepper crossed the living area and placed the cask on the counter before unloading the rest of the bottles. Most of them were names you didn’t recognize, several in foreign languages, and a number of them you had the feeling were of one hell of a unique brew.

“Is that… monster alcohol?” You hazarded, voice awed. It was _not_ easy stuff to come by, and was in fact still partially illegal, or at least _heavily_ regulated in a number of places - it was one of the things the government was struggling with how to regulate, given the magical properties and variety in the drinks.

“THE BEST,” Pepper confirmed, nodding as she stepped back to survey the selection with a calculating eye.

“SHE’S GOT THE BEST TASTE - SOMETHING OF A CULTURAL THING,” Sapphire explained, before adding, “ER, CERTAIN MONSTER COMMUNITIES HAD DIFFERENT TRADITIONS WITHIN THE OVERARCHING CONTEXT OF US ALL-” she waved her hand as if brushing it off quickly.

“OF COURSE I HAVE THE BEST TASTE,” Pepper cut in smoothly. Her hand dipped to the leather satchel once more, and she took out five carved wood-and-glass mugs. Monsters as a whole tended to average out to being larger than humans - Sapphire and Pepper, over 6 feet tall even as some of the shorter sisters, were on the average to small end of the spectrum - and the drinking mugs Pepper procured were reflective of that. They had to be at at least one and a half times the size of a beer stein, and your eyes widened.

With a flick of her wrist, Pepper had cracked the seal on the cask’s spout, and in one single streaming pour she filled the five large mugs without spilling a drop before sealing it once more.

Sapphire lifted her mug to Pepper in cheers as she passed it to her, Vellum took it with surprising gratitude and excitement, and Scarlet smirked as she accepted her mug. You were the last one Pepper faced, and with striking eye contact she extended the final mug to you.

The designs on the wooden handle and base, connected to the glass that formed the container itself, looked hand carved; ornate yet powerful depictions of what appeared to be a battle turning into a mourning into a celebration and round again caught your eye. It was breathtaking work, carvings you’d expect to see on display in a museum. The glass itself was thick and swirled with twisting patterns, and held a rich amber liquid that smelled of cloves and spices and something sweeter yet. When you met Pepper’s gaze, your hands carefully accepted the drink from her, very nearly speechless.

She lifted her own glass at your acceptance, and for the first time proper, you saw the firm set of her mouth quirk, a proud grin crooking the line of it as she set her free hand on her hip and raised her glass.

“TO THE SEIZING OF FATE,” she said, her naturally loud voice booming. Without hesitation the other girls all but smashed their mugs into hers in something you realized must be tradition - and you quickly joined in, the jovial yet powerful feel of the action drawing your own grin back as Sapphire and Vellum cheered and Scarlet and Pepper smirked.

“AND TO FRIENDSHIP!” Vellum added brightly.

“HEAR, HEAR,” Sapphire agreed, waggling her brow at you and causing you to laugh.

“I’m honored,” you said, and with a tight feeling in your chest… you really meant it.

Almost as one you took a drink - while Pepper smoothly drained it, Scarlet pridefully attempting the same while Sapphire and Vellum broke halfway through to try not to laugh, you took a slightly more tentative sip of the unknown drink.

The moment it hit your tongue you made a surprised sound, and your hesitation disappeared. It was mulled with sweetness and spices, not so strong that you’d be knocked off your feet, but not so hidden in its kick that you couldn’t tell it was of impressive quality. It reminded you of autumn bonfires and, well, _feasts_. When you lowered the glass you had all four of the girls staring at you - Pepper looked confident, while Scarlet looked as if she was trying to be aloof but was plainly intrigued, having drained her glass alongside Pepper. Sapphire and Vellum simply looked like they were on the edge of their seats in anticipation.

“Holy _shit,_ ” you said plainly, looking from the drink in your glass back up to them.

Your smile widened and spread to your tired eyes, and for a bare moment, it looked as if the four women in front of you had nearly identical expressions, their eyesockets widening marginally in sync. The effect broke just as quickly, and Pepper was leaning once more to refill her mug, Scarlet fast behind her, while Vellum and Sapphire beamed.

“PEPPER MAKES THE BEST FIREFLOWER MEAD,” Vellum agreed, eyelights still sparkling.

“Fireflower?” You took another appreciative sip of the drink. Something about it certainly made you feel _warm_ , in a way a little more lively than alcohol commonly did. It felt like there was a subtle tingle of it down to your fingers, like the crackle of a flame racing harmlessly through your veins.

“THEY GROW DEEP IN HOTLAND - THEIR LEAVES BURN CONSTANTLY, AND THEIR PETALS MAKE A SOUND LIKE A BONFIRE WHENEVER THEY MOVE… WHICH IS CONSTANTLY SINCE THEY DANCE,” Sapphire explained. “SOME HEAT AND FIRE ORIENTED MONSTERS HAVE SUCCEEDED IN FINDING WAYS TO CULTIVATE THEM ON THE SURFACE THIS YEAR! PEPPER MAKES HER OWN TRADITIONAL MEAD OUT OF IT.”

“IT’S CUSTOMARY TO BEGIN A NEW PHASE IN ONE’S LIFE, OR A POTENTIAL ALLYSHIP, WITH A FEAST AND THE SHARING OF FIREFLOWER MEAD,” Pepper said, holding a newly topped up mug. Scarlet had refilled hers as well, but had crossed into the kitchen, checking on Vellum’s bread, prompting Vellum to join her. “WITH A FIERY PASSION, SO TO SPEAK. THE MAGICAL PROPERTIES OF MONSTER ALCOHOL VARY, BUT THIS ONE IN PARTICULAR FILLS YOU WITH THE BURNING DESIRE TO PURSUE NEW BEGINNINGS AND CONQUER FORMER FEARS.”

Glancing down at the drink, your expression shifted curiously. “... Does it really do all that?”

Sapphire laughed, her hand settling on your shoulder. “YOU’D BE SURPRISED… BUT I SUPPOSE YOU’LL JUST HAVE TO KEEP TRYING IT AND SEE, RIGHT?”

That impish grin of hers was too charming to not shoot back at her.

“I certainly wouldn’t mind a little burning desire - to conquer problems and things, I mean!” you cut into your own sentence quickly, cheeks warming and a laugh in your voice before the apparent innuendo police could cut in. Pepper snorted into her drink, and Sapphire outright laughed. “Work’s been kind of a nightmare, after all. Good stuff too, but damn if complications don’t keep happening…”

As you tipped the mug back again, you missed a subtle flicker of the eyelights of the skeletons you stood around. Even to Sapphire, who you’d been texting, you really hadn’t shared much personal information yet - let alone anything that might be troubling you beyond the obvious stress you unsuccessfully tried to hide.

Sapphire stepped just a little closer, hip leaning against the kitchen counter once more.

“SO, WHAT SORT OF-”

Her words were interrupted as your phone rang in your pocket. You quickly lowered your mug and set it on the counter, pulling it out swiftly and half-turning away out of habit to check it. Your posture changed slightly at seeing who it was, a small ‘ _oh-!’_ slipping unnoticed out of you.

Completely unaware, you had no idea that the slip of actually intriguing and new personal information had effectively baited your new friends.

“I wonder if she heard back from the contractors…?” You murmured to yourself absently and too quiet to be overheard, your back turned. The moment your head lifted, the women leaning in behind you and pretending to not strain to try and catch your words suddenly straightened, looking substantially more occupied as you glanced back at them apologetically. “Sorry, guys, give me a few minutes - I need to take this-”

Sapphire was the one who spoke up, her curiosity a little ill-hidden. “WHO IS IT?”

You were already distracted and walking to the still-open balcony door though, assuring, “Be right back, don’t want to miss her-!”

Focused on your phone and your quick steps, you stepped onto the balcony to take your call and shut the door behind you.

A simple look was exchanged between the four skeletons left inside.

Within an instant Sapphire’s hand closed around Pepper’s wrist, dragging her with her to lean against the back of the couch, glasses raised and tossed back, chugging almost comically slowly as their hearing strained. In a move less related to subtlety than it was to brazen intent to be in the know, Scarlet’s magic blazed over the dining table, moving it to a spot closer to the balcony doorway as it slid partway shut behind you. Vellum was left slightly in the dust, but with the resourcefulness of someone not to be left behind in any situation, she began to fiddle casually with the speakers near the TV, tweaking the levels with all the sound tech expertise she didn’t have a drop of.

Already eager to answer the call however, your attention was on your phone screen, and you missed the skeleton women flinching inside as the treble dropped out with a horrifying crackle before they all scrambled to control the sound sliders Vellum was looking at with horror. With a swipe of your thumb, you accepted the call, smiling as you greeted a voice that was all too familiar.

“Hey there, Sofia, how are you doing?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you know, i _swear_ i meant for the dinner chapter to be, well, _one chapter_ , but then Pepper showed up in even more spectacular and insistent a fashion, and there's just so much to do with these four so it ended up as a bit of a transitional chapter as we add more of the sweet skeleladies to our repertoire before we can get that sweet quality time really going. dinner's a hell of an affair for them, and let's be real there's a lotta ground to cover with two new arrivals and -
> 
> \- well, next chapter we'll be getting an insight into _their_ PoV to have some fun with the shenanigans that are coming. ;D
> 
> thank you so much for waiting, and for your comments so far! they serious fuel me and mean so much - i love hearing about your favorite moments or characters so far, any thoughts at all. <3


	4. In Which There's a Panic! (at the Dinner)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Vellum butted in, casually leaning against Scarlet while making eye contact with you. Her smile grew wider as Scarlet sputtered slightly and began to try and shove her back upright, but apparently Vellum had invisible skeleton abs of steel because she was not budging, all the while twirling her fork slowly in her pasta. The ball of noodles was growing to comical proportions at this point._
> 
> _You nodded with faux-seriousness. “Oh, clearly. Only the average amount of interest causes that sort of response. Average enough to definitely have zero opinion on movies like-” you glanced to the screen as Sapphire scrolled through the romance-comedy section with a wicked grin on her face at the antics behind her- “uh- Mr. Wrong?”_
> 
> _“That movie is an affront to the genre-”_
> 
> _“Whoa okay jokes aside, that movie is the actual worst-”_
> 
> _Scarlet and Sapphire both spoke at the same time, their words coming as quickly as you’d said the title of the movie. Your brows raised, looking between them as they glanced at each other - and nodded, in apparent complete agreement._
> 
> _“Should I ask..?” you ventured at the same moment Pepper said, “Do tell.”_

“TURN IT OFF!!”

“ _YOU TURN IT OFF-”_

“HOW DOES A SINGLE SPEAKER SYSTEM HAVE _SO MANY BUTTONS?!”_

“ _Hey guys maybe don’t yell this is not exactly subtle-”_

“I’ll show you subtle-”

“Got it-!”

Pepper’s hand was the first one to find the offending knob, twisting it down until the spike in the _deeply_ offended screeching noise that was generated when anyone pretended to know how to operate a state-of-the-art sound system. Some unknowable electronic entity having been appeased by the adjustment, the music turned back to a pleasant bassy rumble of background music.

In the true fashion of the most discreet of persons, all four monsters’ heads turned towards you on the balcony - but your back was turned. You’d apparently idly paced towards the railing, and faced away from the townhouse and towards the slowly brightening stars.

Sapphire’s hand dragged down her face, a relieved groan quietly escaping her.

“... Damn, I missed hearing who the hell she’s talking to,” she grumbled. Her face turned away from looking at you, though her eyelights lingered before flickering away as she took a deep draught of her mead.

“I thought you said she didn’t have any friends when we spoke yesterday,” Pepper said after draining the rest of her own glass.

Sapphire looked mildly horrified when Vellum and Scarlet’s eyelights cut quickly to her at Pepper’s words. “What? No! I said she’s just _busy_ a lot with work, so she apparently doesn’t have any… non-work friends,” she said, gesturing haplessly, her cheekbones coloring.

“You speak often with the little human neighbor?” Scarlet questioned, her voice only just shy of its normal extreme volume.

Sapphire grinned brightly at that over the edge of her mug. “We’ve been texting, actually! I obtained her number last week - and considering how busy she is, it’s my estimation that our frequent messages are actually quite numerous by her standards.” She looked a little proud of that. After a moment her expression creased, however, and her mouth pulled just a little pouty. “... But from what I could tell from both conversation and extrapolation, she really… gives her all to work, one way or another. She’s even working when she’s home, though she doesn’t seem to want to talk about it… at least, the topic never lingers there long, so far. She did mention she pretty much never goes out, though…”

“Why on Earth would that be??” Vellum chimed in, her head tilting. At some point, she had drained the entirety of her mug, though without ever seeming to have moved much at all to do so. “She seems so nice!! Surely she has friends through work?”

Pepper lifted her mug, about to take another deep sip - only to realize she had drained it not a minute ago. After appearing scandalized by this fact for a beat, she crossed the room back to her keg to fill up once more, saying, “It sounds as though she works with incompetent fools, leaving her with the lioness’ share of the work. That, or she is incompetent - though she doesn’t immediately appear to be the type.”

Sapphire rolled her eyelights and shot an unimpressed look at Pepper. “Oh please, you know as well as the rest of us that she isn’t the type - you can read it at a single glance for how she holds herself.”

The other three nodded at that point - Pepper dryly, Scarlet in deep consideration, and Vellum happily. You seemed dedicated - if a bit of a workaholic, whether accidentally or more likely by the pressure of a heavy workload.

“If anything, I’d peg her as the type to overwork,” Vellum pointed out, hand going to her hip. Her face was very determinedly not looking towards you out on the balcony, muffled conversation ongoing. She was failing at not looking desperately curious, though, given her slow edging towards the balcony door.

“She sure does seem like it,” Sapphire muttered, not looking pleased at this. With her mug emptied, she was twirling it on one finger effortlessly now, her eyelights flickering back to you.

You were _interesting_.

Of course, Sapphire found many things interesting. This timeline in and of itself was interesting - not only were the personalities, or sometimes just roles, of everyone she could recognize from _her_ timeline flipped, but their genders were switched or mixed about too. This wasn’t even Serif and Vellum’s timeline, after all - rather, their male counterparts. That alone provided plenty of interest even for the year or so they’d been here - but she was a naturally curious type, and tended to stroll right past barriers to discover more about them.

You though - you were a little something… _more_ . They’d had human neighbors in their previous couple of… _temporary_ housing situations, but none of them had greeted Sapphire and her friends and family with the kind of casual acceptance you had. Plenty had been either bigoted - unfortunate, but not uncommon - or avoided them, or there had been a few too that had gawked and been a little… _too_ interested, even for her friendly ways. Some were welcoming too, but there was something about how you managed to roll with each new surprise made Sapphire want to know more - want to know _you_ more.

Serif and Alpha had actually tried to buy out the entire row of townhouses. They’d be able to sell the block once their new house was finally ready, keep suspicion down, and avoid the potential of a human neighbor with less than fond feelings about monsters. They’d been disgruntled but accepting when they received word that the last tenant had been unwilling to sell - they technically only _needed_ four anyways… they’d have to just roll the dice and accept the results. It was the real reason Serif and Glyph had gone to the townhouses a day early - to scope out what they should expect when they moved in.

Now, Serif was _glad_ it was you - and that you’d been stubborn despite the good offer, for whatever reason. You were the coolest puzzle Sapphire had ever come across - but so much more, of course. People weren’t puzzles.

Well, not entirely.

… Of course, it didn’t hurt that you were cute too.

She’d thought it, the moment she caught your eye when she’d gotten stuck on your railing last week. Not her smoothest moment, but she supposed a big impression was better than a forgotten one. And you’d even helped her catch Addy! You were quick on your feet, and made Sapphire laugh - she’d already had a good and very interested opinion of you from what Amber had said the night they’d moved in, but, well… you kept making it better.

You didn’t think her numerous texts were annoying, you’d said this past week when Sapphire had a moment of realization as to the hour of the day, your work habits, and her chain of 12 texts at that point.

You’d asked her about her favorite part of the town - her favorite music, her favorite movie.

You were…. _warm_.

Sapphire had grown up in a snowy environment - maybe that was why she was so drawn to you, like she was coming in from an ice puzzle tournament to the fiery cafe she loved so much.

“Earth to Sapphire, you in there?”

She startled, the spinning mug popping off her finger as her eyelights snapped to Pepper, standing at her side with a new mug of mead and an arched browbone.

Sapphire quickly snatched her own empty mug out of the air before it could hit the ground, then grinned at her friend.

“Yup, just doing a bit of cadet duty,” she responded with a cheeky wink, propping her hand on her hip. Vellum and Scarlet had returned to the kitchen, arguing about the benefits of ‘AN OBSCENE AMOUNT OF PARMESAN CHEESE, REALLY’ on the garlic bread.

Pepper’s eyesockets narrowed slightly, and she scoffed, shaking her head. “... You’re lost in orbit at this point.” She took a deep draught of her mead.

Still, Sapphire didn’t miss the way Pepper’s own eyelights flickered with measured intrigue to your form on the balcony, still facing away from them.

Huffing a laugh, Sapphire leaned her hip against the tall speaker she stood by.

“Perhaps. But if I am, I might just be in good company.”

 

* * *

You were laughing, ducking your head from your unfocused stare towards the horizon.

“Oh hell, please tell me you did _not_ tell the former head of construction that.”

“ _What? If he_ **_could_ ** _prove himself capable of finishing to a woman’s satisfaction, he’d have finished the job.”_

“I think you might be my hero, Sofia.”

“ _Funny, he told me something to the effect of the exact opposite._ ”

You laughed, the sound bubbling all too naturally out of you. With your elbows propped on the railing of the balcony, you’d gotten the slight bit of private quiet you’d needed to focus on the call with your favorite - and most important - client. Hers was the job you worked all hours of the night to keep up with, your passion project and the project your boss insisted you drop due to ‘lack of high enough competency’. He’d said to prove him wrong, expecting you to bow your head and keep your nose to the grindstone as you had been-

-there’d been something terribly satisfying at seeing his shock and annoyance when he found out you hadn’t. Maybe that spirit was why you and Sofia got along so well.

“But seriously, I can’t believe you really secured a new crew within 24 hours. You’re sure you find their rate agreeable? I saw the figures - they’re, uh - well, exorbitant would be an understatement. Of course, the company _is_ -”

“ _That’s precisely it. I’m willing to pay for that kind of quality. Mettaton’s own branded construction company might come with the costs that the flamboyant calculator on steroids would demand, but they have the skill to back it up_.”

You hummed thoughtfully, nodding despite the fact she couldn’t see you.

“True. They put up a hotel in the nearest major city in less than six months - and I’m not talking a small affair. It came suped with the greatest tech he could pay for - or at least the flashiest,” you chuckled.

There was a laugh on the other end of the call, one that was just slightly breathy and rough around the edges. For some reason, it made you think of whiskey, of an amber-lit bar, of soft music in the background and a slender hand holding the drink in capable hands.

… So sue you, you liked the sound of your client’s laugh.

 _“Definitely the flashiest,”_ she responded a little dryly.

You grinned at that. You’d designed the entirety of the enormous house she’d requested you, you _specifically_ , design. As it turned out, leaving up your portfolio of solar-punk-esque, highly technologically capable yet not desperately pretentious, and even ecologically friendly and, with some additions as the world changed, monster-friendly designs for theoretical houses and buildings had paid off. That and your work on the newest local library, the one erected in the now largely monster-centric part of town with a similar aesthetic, had apparently caught Sofia’s eye when she was on the hunt for an architect for the house she wanted to build on the mountainside on the edge of town.

From her original design requirements and the countless conversations you’d had by now, she _had_ to work in tech. Her job was confidential, but she certainly had no shortage of funds or knowledge.

“Well, so long as they’re willing to tone down Mettaton’s taste in the most prevalent STD of all, glitter, then full steam ahead, I say,” you said, idly turning around to rest the small of your back on the railing.

Your gaze drifted to the well-lit interior of Scarlet’s apartment that you now faced.

Sapphire had just… tackled Pepper over the back of the couch?

Scarlet seemed unconcerned, if a little flushed, and Vellum was looking like the cat that had caught the canary.

“ _I will personally taze each and every one of them if they put glitter in any of your designs or my ordered supplies.”_

You choked back a snort at how deadly serious she sounded, your expression breaking from the mild distracted concern to one of amusement.

“Heard. I’ll swing by tomorrow to make sure they avoid a particularly _shocking_ fate then.”

_“I caught that.”_

You snickered, hearing the grin in her voice.

“That was the point. Alright though, I better get back inside - the new neighbors invited me over for dinner, don’t wanna make them wait - and I want to get a head start later on that adjustment for the insulation in the west hub we talked about since you’ve confirmed you have a shipment of that space agency soundproofing coming in a couple weeks.”

“ _You sure you don’t want to hear about how I-”_

“With how often you bring up ‘plausible deniability’, I’m starting to feel it may be healthy to sidestep the ‘how’ of most things you manage to do,” you teased.

… You also very, very much so meant it. Sofia was a woman who could get the strangest things done in no time flat.

_“Boo, you’re no fun.”_

“But I get the job done,” you shot back, the amusement clear in your tone.

She laughed again, and you felt your smile widen.

 _“And that’s what I like about you,”_ she replied. “ _Later, Archie.”_

You huffed a laugh at her nickname for you, simply based off ‘architect’. She’d been using it since her first call with you, and it had stuck.

“Later, Sofia,” you replied, then hung up with a deft swipe of your thumb and a shake of your head.

Taking a deep breath of the cooler night air, you stretched lazily and looked towards the stars beginning to dot the sky.

Yeah, you were overworked. But some things were just _worth_ it, weren’t they.

 

* * *

“C’mon, Scar, dinner is best enjoyed while watching a movie!”

“I worked for five hours on this lasagna, and you want to eat it on the _couch?_ ”

“You have a very good couch, to be fair!!”

“ _ESTRELLAS, AYUDA ME-_ PEPPER-!! I mean- _Pepper,_ provide some common sense with me-”

“... You’re lacking one chair for proper place settings at the table, Scarlet.”

“....... _POR AMOR A- PUTA MADRE-!!_ ”

“Woops. Welllll then… cute neighbor, what do you think?”

You blinked, laden plate in one hand and refilled mug of mead in the other as Sapphire drew attention to you. You’d finished off your first sizable drink by the time everything was plated and ready. The heat of the monster alcohol burned lightly along your cheeks, and made it to where you had to take a couple beats before you could take a swing at the… delicate debate.

“... I mean, when the food knocks you out of the park, you’re going to be knocked out of the park whether you’re at the table or on the couch, right?”

Scarlet’s posture straightened slightly, and her cheekbones dusted with magic.

“.... FINE THEN! I MEAN- very well, we can partake in _Netflix_ as we dine,” Scarlet muttered,her eye contact turning from locked on you back towards the couch she then nodded to.

Which, as it turned out, was perhaps just as much of a challenge to arrange seating with as the table had been.

Given the size of the four of them, even with Pepper and Sapphire being decently shorter than Vellum and Scarlet, they were all still _large_ \- as all monsters were. If anything, at well over six feet tall, Pepper and Sapphire were on the small side for monsters…

… Which was, of course, still on the large side for sofas.

Sapphire and Vellum tried to insist you take a spot on the couch, while as a guest you felt it necessary to say you’d be fine on the floor with your back propped against it - Scarlet at one point tried to bodily lift you to place you on it, but you’d managed to dodge that by pointing out you’d spill your food.

In the end, Vellum and Pepper sat on either end of the couch, and Scarlet took the middle, while you sat on the ground on a cushion Scarlet had managed to forcefully shove on the ground. Your back was nestled between her and Vellum’ s legs, while Sapphire joined you with her back between Scarlet and Pepper’s.

You were pretty sure Scarlet was still grumbling something decidedly disgruntled in Spanish, but Sapphire just winked at you and waved you off when you hesitated about what to do.

“This is the best we’re gonna get, and it works fine - so c’mon, let’s pick, let’s pick!” She snatched up a controller to the PS4 that Scarlet had begrudgingly booted up, quickly sliding through the icons till she had Netflix loading.

“What are we going to watch?” Vellum asked brightly, leaning down to look at Sapphire over the top of your head.

“Hmmm… any votes?” Sapphire asked, glancing back and then to you, looking unphased by her lack of plan.

“Something with some excitement,” Pepper interjected swiftly. You glanced over your shoulder to her - it looked like the alcohol was finally starting to get to her after all these drinks, and a subtle haze of violet dusted her cheekbones. She had a slightly cheeky tilt to her mouth now, too.

The light of her own magic on her cheekbones made you realize that she had subtle marks dotting the bone there, like Serif and Vellum did. Did she have freckles too…?

“Or adventure! Japes, friendships, shenanigans,” Vellum suggested, interrupting your wandering thoughts. She wagged her brows and was twirling her fork into the large helping of her spaghetti on her plate.

“ _Clearly_ romantic intrigue and drama is the best choice,” Scarlet scoffed, lifting her own mead to take a drink.

“Huh, I didn’t peg you for a romantic type, Scarlet,” you said, turning slightly to look up at her curiously. “Just a mood, or a general genre favorite?”

Scarlet nearly choked on her mead as Pepper let out a bark of laughter, her tipsy flush intensifying, bending over and eyeing Scarlet with a wicked hint of mischief that was beginning to feel like a trend.

“If it’s a mood, then it’s one Scarlet has quite the streak for. Perhaps frequently. Professionally, one might even say-”

She only shut up when Scarlet, with all the subtlety of a bull charging a matador, rammed her elbow into her side.

“ _I have a perfectly average investment in the genre,”_ she grit out, bright red eyelights burning the same color as a rising haze of magic over her face as she stared at Pepper.

“... Yup, definitely seems like it,” you butted back in, grinning.

Chalk _that_ up on your slowly growing list of things to figure out about this group of skeleton women.

Vellum laughed at your reply, her already bright smile going crooked with the same mischief the others had already displayed a penchant for.

“Indeed, Scarlet is quite the _average fan_ of romance,” Vellum butted in, casually leaning against Scarlet while making eye contact with you. Her smile grew wider as Scarlet sputtered slightly and began to try and shove her back upright, but apparently Vellum had invisible skeleton abs of steel because she was _not_ budging, all the while twirling her fork slowly in her pasta. The ball of noodles was growing to comical proportions at this point.

You nodded with faux-seriousness. “Oh, clearly. Only the average amount of interest causes that sort of response. Average enough to definitely have zero opinion on movies like-” you glanced to the screen as Sapphire scrolled through the romance-comedy section with a wicked grin on her face at the antics behind her- “uh- Mr. Wrong?”

“ _That movie is an affront to the genre-”_

 _“_ Whoa okay jokes aside, that movie is the actual worst-”

Scarlet and Sapphire both spoke at the same time, their words coming as quickly as you’d said the title of the movie. Your brows raised, looking between them as they glanced at each other - and nodded, in apparent complete agreement.

“Should I ask..?” you ventured at the same moment Pepper said, “Do tell.”

Vellum snickered at this while Scarlet and Sapphire immediately launched into an explanation.

“Okay, first off - well, not first, but definitely crucial - maybe don’t make a _literal_ psychopath the apparent love interest-”

“How on the Surface humans though it was a cultured idea to construct a tale of the romance of two people intended by having them apart practically the entire movie-”

“Also, fake intros are the worst sort of trope, just tell the story why don’t you-”

“-the lack of chemistry is an abysmal affront to romance storytellers everywhere-”

“Seriously, my sister has more chemistry with her stars-damned honey lollipops than a single straight person has in that film-”

“ _Y dios mio,_ the writers had her acting so helpless and yet playing this travesty for _laughs_ -”

“And it’s Ellen Degeneres!! She’s gay!! But not in this movie, which is the _problem-_ ”

“Actresses may of course portray a number of identities, but considering the terrible dearth of woman-woman relationships in common cinema on the Surface, that seemed a grievous offense that deserves retribution to this day-”

“- _Make it gay, you cowards-”_

Pepper suddenly cut in, no longer sitting on the couch, but at the cask of mead, holding all five mugs in hand and lifting them, the contents clearly filled. You hadn’t even noticed her take your mug, let alone anyone else’s.

“THE COWARDS OUGHT TO MAKE IT _ALL_ GAY!” she announced. Without missing a beat, all their cheekbones hazed with the same sort of tipsiness you could feel rooted warmly in your belly too, the other three repeated, “MAKE IT GAY!!”

Sapphire had crowed it, nearly spilling her plate but catching it just as smoothly, Scarlet had stated it like an ultimatum, and Vellum had lifted her fork triumphantly as she cheered, revealing she had, in a feat of pasta mastery, managed to twirl the entire serving on one perfectly normal sized fork.

“Holy shit, this might just be the best movie night ever,” you commented as Pepper proceeded to pass you your mug before repeating the action with a wave of magic for the other mugs. “And we haven’t even watched a movie.”

“Should we watch this one?” Vellum offered, looking thoughtful.

“ _Pendeja_ , did you not hear a _single_ word either of us just said?” Scarlet said, still sporting a reddened glow on her face, looking almost offended at the thought of this movie showing up in her Netflix history.

Vellum waved her off. “Of course I did!” Lifting a finger to emphasize her point she then continued with a sparkle to her eyelights, “but sometimes, a terrible movie can be just as fun to watch as a good movie - think of the jokes! The japes! The meme rapport that we five would have together!”

That last bit cut off whatever Scarlet had been about to say, and she suddenly turned very, very thoughtful.

Sapphire looked torn between her apparent romance standards and the potential comedy of the situation.

“How about we turn it into a drinking game? The first to get sloshed after taking a swig each badly executed trope gets to pick the next movie,” Pepper offered, looking delighted at potentially turning it into a challenge.

“Even you would be knocked out cold by the second act,” Sapphire said pointedly to that plan, deadpan. Pepper snorted as if she very much doubted that, and Vellum seemed impressed at what that implied.

Finally, you laughed, deciding to weigh in. “Alright, so a drinking game could go south - but drinking and bad movies? I’m down - we can even hunt out the ways they probably _could’ve_ made it gay, since there’s usually at least a dozen,” you snickered, taking a swig of your own mead before switching your gaze over the group.

Vellum clapped you on the shoulder, jostling you with a hint too much strength that she didn’t look like she could have. “YES!! I mean- yes! Excellent! The cute little human neighbor is in! What say you, friends?”

Scarlet nodded, giving in as she shifted slightly, crossing her legs and leaving her exposed tibia to brush against you for a moment. She crossed her arms, her plate balanced perfectly on her lap. “ _Bien entonces_ ,” she sighed, before adding, “But I get to choose the next one!”

“ _Maybe_ ,” Sapphire hedged, but still grinned. She winked at you. “I’m in, then - can’t resist cracking some jokes with our cute neighbor after all.” Her thumb flicked over the analog stick, and with a tap of her finger, she had the movie playing.

Your fork was already shifting with determination towards the lasagna Scarlet had made, admittedly excited to finally taste it. You paused before taking your bite though as the movie kicked on properly past the studio card credits.

“Oh god, this is going to be _aggressively_ 90’s, isn’t it,” you said, only to get a snicker from Sapphire and an amused-yet-sickened hum from Scarlet.

“This ought to be interesting,” Pepper drawled, her mouth curving in a smirk.

 

* * *

With time-space re-shuffling back into place behind them, the four skeleton women stretched in the cool night air.

“any bets on whose gonna have to have cleanin’ duty with their sis for gettin’ back at 3am?” Amber commented with a lazy grin. She had an echoflower joint hanging from her teeth, properly wearing her hoodie for once, though it was unzipped and slouched off of her shoulders.

Crimson chuckled with a grin, elbowing Amber with one eye closed, snagging the joint from her and taking a deep appreciated drag before passing it back and tucking her hands in her pockets. “pff. boss was in such a twist earlier about perfectin’ some new variety of lasagna, she literally remade it three times by the time i shortcut outta there - she mighta properly passed out for once.”

“now _that’s_ wishful thinking,” Serif commented, her hands buried in her pockets as she took the first step forward, aiming towards her and Vellum’s townhouse off to the right from where they’d landed in the center of the walkway in front of the row of townhouses. “you’re gonna end up having to write an essay for each version that she’s saved, with detailed reporting on the chemistry of each balance of flavors-”

With a flippant swipe of her hand, Crimson tossed a small conjured bone at Serif, who caught it with a cheeky wink at her friend just before it could hit her between the eyesockets. Crimson rolled her eyes but grinned nevertheless as she turned to move towards her own home.

Behind them the tallest of the four, with a scar to rival Scarlet’s over her left socket, slowly drew a lollipop out of her mouth. She wore a cutoff vest with a trim around a hood fluffier than even Crimson’s, a slouchy, sleeveless turtleneck below it overlaid with a lock necklace, sporting short shorts and dark fishnets to complete the look above kneehigh boots. With a lifted brow, she pointed at the very townhouse at the end of the row Crimson was moving towards-

-at the same time, a sudden chorus of muffled laughter echoed out, apparently breaking free of the decent soundproofing via the thrown-open balcony door, from the echo of it.

“... i’m gonna hedge my bets and say that maybe Scarlet’s not asleep,” she mused. The other three stared in mild shock, but she simply smirked and strolled past them, deft digits plucking the echoflower joint from Amber’s mouth just as it began to fall out. With the lollipop twirling in her other hand, she took a deep drag and walked up to the front door, opening it at the same time she felt the other three cut out the middleman in catching up by simply shortcutting to step in behind her.

Another chorus of decidedly _drunken_ laughter practically shook the walls of the townhouse.

“uh, Cinn, d’you know somethin’ we don’t?” Amber asked behind her.

Cinnamon simply shrugged, passing back the stolen echoflower cigarette for Amber to hurriedly put out as Crimson made a sudden urgent gesture at her given the general strong feelings of Scarlet about smoking inside. They then all moved up the stairs, curious-

All four skeleton women paused, practically piling up at the top two steps.

In the previously meticulously clean living room, a pile of blankets, pillows, and bodies had formed. Despite the manufacturer’s recommendations regarding couch safety, four skeleton women and one human had somehow through the night found a way to pile onto it, drinks in hand. Plates scraped clean of pasta, lasagna, and garlic bread decorated the floor outside of what was a clear immediate danger zone of literally-thrown throw pillows in the haphazard direction of the screen.

You were half-sprawled between the laps of Sapphire and Scarlet, Sapphire’s arms half around you to keep you from falling off and half around Pepper, who’d found apparent comfort and style by lying on the back of the couch like somebody’s misplaced french girl. Scarlet had a slightly lost grip on one of your knees, simultaneously attempting to shake a mug of mead at the screen and also balance Vellum, whose long legs had since been tossed over the side of the couch, finding clear favor in resting her skull on your thigh while happily booing the screen with the rest of you.

Silence ruled over the four new arrivals as credits full of cheesy 90’s attempts to have a polaroid-like ‘cute time lapse’ of someone’s… honeymoon, maybe, was serenaded by what might have been a misguided attempt at an RnB song blared over the speakers - and all five of you were jeering it with apparent delight.

“It’s a crime to have that many dramatic zooms in one filmmm,” Pepper drawled with a grin. She lifted her mug, which Sapphire knocked her forehead against, her apparent return form of cheers given how occupied her hands were balancing several friends despite her clear drunkenness.

“There were 23- no- _25_ chances for gay in that movie - and they passed eeeev’ryone of ‘em up for Mr. Exciting-As-A-Watercracker??” she announced, offended.

“Your movie was bad and you should feel baaaad,” you chimed in, nodding assertively as though this was the critical opinion of the decade.

“Have _any one_ of these _ineffectual_ writers ever even been on a date with actual _chemistry?_ ” Scarlet booed. At some point in night, she’d ended up with a pillow as a hat, and her surprisingly still-perfect posture, even with sobriety long behind her, kept it in place. “ _Cabrrrrrrroooones,”_ she added, decisively, yet rolling the word so exaggeratedly and with such feeling that you giggled, apparently now a fan of her cursing out bad romance writers.

“Truly horrendous! My favorite was the fact that they fell in and out of love three times in 12 hours, and were offended when someone pointed this out to them and perhaps that letting there be a little build up might be a good approach!” Vellum said brightly, only betraying her own drunkenness with a surprisingly delighted giggle every half sentence or so.

“How many’s ‘zat?” You muttered, grinning, pressing the heel of your palm to your face, snickering for no particular reason. You looked up at Sapphire and Pepper, who were apparently snickering for a very _good_ reason - the pillow had gone slightly crooked on Scarlet’s head, and she’d just noticed a tassel starting to dangle in her line of vision, causing her to glare at it like it had just insulted her ancestry.

“Four? Five?” Sapphire offered, unconcerned. “Wanna do onnne more~?”

Vellum rolled over, trying to look at Sapphire upside-down to answer - unfortunately, this development left an approximately nonexistent amount of space to keep your balance on Scarlet’s lap, and despite Sapphire’s slightly delayed “ _oh, shit-!”_ and both her hands reaching for you, it was a beat too late and you tumbled off the cuddle pile and onto the blankets haphazardly skewed on the ground with an unceremonious “ _Oomph.”_

Sapphire’s shifted grip of course then left Pepper without the key anchor for her position, so as she lowered her emptied mug her eyesockets widened and she tumbled forward, knocking into Scarlet and Sapphire like a bowling ball into drunken pins already off-balance as they reached down to you. Vellum snagged at Pepper’s leg, Sapphire dove to catch Scarlet’s mead flying from her hand, Scarlet tried desperately to not fall onto your face-

The floor shook as you ended up with two and a half skeletons dogpiled on you.

Vellum’s chest was the odd half, trapped partially under Scarlet but pulled towards the couch in a hopeless tangle where her legs and Pepper’s had caught. Sapphire had miraculously saved the mead, but at the cost of ending up splayed over your lowerhalf with Scarlet the pin on top.

The muffled cursing in spanish broke the four standing on the staircase from the effective trance they’d been in.

Crimson cracked first, a bright, rough laugh breaking free of her as she clutched her middle, bending over as Amber choked on her own laughter and started wheezing at the sight, causing Sapphire to ineffectually flail in the pile as delayed recognition caught at her. Serif and Cinnamon had their phones out with their shoulders shaking with effort to keep the laughter in, Serif’s grin too wide - she slid her phone back into her pocket and managed to take a step forward as the pile of bodies shifted, the sheer force of drunken determination inspiring Scarlet to break free first, freeing Vellum to attempt to crunch upwards back onto the sofa - only to grunt her defeat and roll off to one side with a giggle. Sapphire was the one who managed to drag you to swaying feet, both of you laughing and completely flushed. Scarlet steadied you before turning towards her sister losing her _absolute shit_ at the top of the stairs.

She attempted to put her hands on her hips to say something definitive and intimidating - and missed.

Crimson dropped to her knees, tears beading at her eyesockets as she laughed harder while Scarlet stared at her hands like they’d betrayed her.

You stumbled forward first, loosely patting the red-faced Scarlet on the back as you passed her, grinning and saluting the group.

“‘Eyyy, it’s the sister crew!” You announced, looking proud of the name for some indeterminable reason.

Amber looked as though she had forgotten how to breath as Sapphire tried to right Pepper on the couch, who’d ended up deciding that she was going to play it off as if one leg stuck under a cushion and the other twisted under her own butt while her head propped on the arm was absolutely her own lifestyle choice.

“You missed the best worst rom-coms! And drinks! Ohhhh god, so many drinks…” You nodded as you continued, certain of this fact. Crossing your arms, you tried to turn around to address Scarlet, saying “An’ the best - damn, the _best_ lasagna ‘n spaghetti that- _oop-”_

Your confidence was proven ill-placed in your ability to stand.

Suddenly without much say in the matter, you found yourself falling backward. All you managed to say was the rather infectious “Oh shit,” before far too quickly your back was against something curiously less horizontal than the floor. In fact, it was rather… vertical?

Confused by this development, you tilted your head back and blinked slowly - above you was a _new_ skeleton lady, tall, sharp teeth, big eye scar, golden tooth, cute face…

“you’re an observant one, aren’t you, darlin’?” she said, her voice a little smokey around the edges.

You blinked.

You hadn’t meant to say the observation bit aloud.

“too late, turns out,” she said, her grin slowly going crooked, and if she had eyes instead of eyesockets, you might have said they crinkled with mirth. Might’ve. You were, as it turned out, quite drunk.

Cinnamon glanced over her shoulder to Crimson and Amber, who were still attempting to fight a losing battle with the unexpected hilarity of their sisters all getting drunk together to the tune of shitty rom-coms with the bonus twist of their only neighbor. Serif managed to walk forward, looking like she had taken enough pictures to be able to lord over Vellum whenever necessary for the next decade.

“you sure did manage to find an interesting one for a neighbor this time,” Cinnamon mused as Serif approached.

Serif chuckled in response, her eyelights brighter than they’d been when they’d just arrived. She reached down to her sister first, hauling her up to her feet to Vellum’s mumbled delighted greeting and assurances that, “SISTER, DID YOU KNOW THAT I _CAN_ IN FACT KEEP UP WITH PEPPER? WITH FAR MORE EXCITING SIDE EFFECTS?”Serif walked her behind where Cinnamon stood with you propped against her front, just out of sight. Vellum called out a warm “NIGHTY NIGHT, CUTE AND HILARIOUS NEIGHBOR! WE MUST PARTAKE IN JAPERY AND DRUNKS… DRINKS! YES! THOSE AGAIN SOON!”

You managed to make a sound that approximated a happy affirmative, and while they were perfectly out of your line of vision, Serif disappeared with Vellum in tow with a quiet displacement of air. She reappeared hardly ten seconds later as Amber had managed to get herself together enough to scoop up her own sister and begin to carry her away to her mild protest while Crimson tried to coax Scarlet to lean on her so she could get her to her room. The two of them wouldn’t stop cracking up though, for obvious reasons on Crimson’s side, and utterly unknowable ones on Scarlet’s.

You were giggling at the sight, seemingly forgetting that you were haphazardly leaning against a highly amused skeleton woman with a lollipop hanging from her mouth.

A confused squeak pulled from you as Serif crouched lightly and scooped you up in a bridal style, freeing Cinnamon to turn and lift Pepper from the couch, which in turn was quickly filled by Scarlet and Crimson collapsing into rough laughter on the cushions.

“you good, Crim?” Serif asked, glancing back with a grin. Crimson waved her off, still laughing too much to form worthwhile conversation. Still she managed to wink at you as Serif carried you away, and you waved back, uncertain if your own wink in return was, in fact, a wink, or if it had turned into just a plain old blink.

Your mind caught up to you after another fifteen, twenty seconds, maybe more - what were you, a mathematician who specialized in drunk counting? - when you shivered lightly in the chill outside. You were apparently on your doorstep now, and realized Serif had somehow located your bag and slung it over her shoulder, carding through your keychain to stick the right key in your door.

Down the row, just a door away from Scarlet and Crimson’s, the newest skeleton woman stood carrying Pepper. Pepper, to her credit, pulled it off with style, something you’d have to remember to ask how she managed when you were sober.

“can you handle all that?” Cinnamon called out as their door swung open in front of her - you swore it was in a haze of… orange? red? … umber? One of those. Like a fireplace. It was nice.

Serif huffed a laugh at your continued pleased mumbling, and the key clicked in the lock, allowing her to push open your door. “please - between the four of us, we’d be in one hell of a rough spot if we couldn’t handle a few drunken women,” she chuckled. “night, Cinn.”

“make good choices,” she said, winking before disappearing into her own doorway.

Serif carried you inside, making an easy beeline for your room, given the mirrored layout of the townhouses.

“Fuck,” you muttered suddenly, your brow furrowing.

She glanced down at you in surprise as she shouldered open the larger of the two small bedrooms, rewarded with her guess by the sight of your room. “what? leave somethin’ important, sunshine?”

You pouted, glaring at your room with all the menace of a pomeranian. “No, my room looks like a tornado hit it.”

Serif choked on a startled laugh as she walked in. Your room was messy, but even in your drunken state, you could’ve sworn there was some added level to her amusement you weren’t getting.

“trust me, i’ve seen worse tornado hangouts,” she replied, setting you mercifully gently on the bed. She took your bag off your shoulder and set it off to the side, putting her hands back in her pockets with a chuckle as you haphazardly rolled over and cuddled up to a spare pillow.

“... Best skeleton award,” you muttered with a dopey grin, eyes already shutting. “Best.”

You missed the softening amusement on her face, but managed to catch the last bit of what she was saying, your consciousness already easing away in a manner surprisingly, reassuringly trusting.

“can i grab you anything?”

“Nahhhh,” you mumbled, giving an approximation of a thumbs up.

Vaguely, you registered another soft laugh and retreating footsteps before you found your words again.

“Wwai-wait. Serif?”

The footsteps paused, somewhere near your bedroom door.

“yeah, sunshine?”

“... You’re good people,” you mumbled, nodding loosely just the once before cozying into your comfortable bed once more.

Whatever response you received was lost in the warm haze of the pleasant kind of drunk you’d reached in the company of four of your skeleton neighbors.

By the time morning rolled around, you’d forgotten what had happened after Serif carried you into your apartment. Still, one thing you did notice was the glass of water and the couple of pain pills set on your nightstand, alongside a note-

 

> _heard it was Pepper’s special brewed mead. might want these to be safe, and a good breakfast._
> 
> _thanks for keeping our sisters company._
> 
> _maybe we’ll get a chance to drink together next time._
> 
> _-Serif_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -slides into the gayest month's home base and pretends like the buzzer didn't sound off an hour ago-
> 
> so a _lot_ happened, but guess whose finally rounding out the crew to really kick things into gear? 8D
> 
> stars, i'm hoping you guys liked the dinner chapter: round 2 X) it ended up being even more full of shenanigans than i'd planned, and was a lot of fun to write - so i can only hope it was just as fun to read. lemme know if you've got a favorite lady so far ;Dc
> 
> back in the writing groove after some crazy life things, so while i desperately need to go pass out after finishing this nearly 7k party of a chapter, leave me a comment with your thoughts on the chapter, or the story, or characters so far! re-reading through your comments and catching the few filtering in new ones since the last chapter lit the fire under my wlw butt again so i could get back in the flow of SSatA. <3 <3 
> 
> thank you so much to everyone who has commented so far - pride month is every month with you cuties giving me life re these wlw skeletons TvT <3


	5. In Which Sometimes, Peer Pressure Is Good For You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _The impact wasn’t exactly soft, but the sidewalk was a lot more padded and… anthropomorphic than you’d thought it’d be.  
> _
> 
> _… It was also groaning._
> 
> _Arms too tangled in bags to try and push upwards, your eyes opened, and your vision was filled with a sunset orange. Another blink cleared your vision, and the lift of your head didn’t hurt your chances of observation either. Apparently, your face hadn’t ended up on concrete, but rather an orange hoodie-_
> 
> _-an orange hoodie occupied by a tall skeleton woman, who had one arm haphazardly wrapped around you, and the other rubbing tenderly at the back of her skull._

The floor shook in a practiced manner, accompanied by the comforting sound of a minor explosion. Crimson hummed under her breath, idly twirling her phone between forefinger and thumb as she leaned against the counter of Serif and Vellum’s kitchen and watched the coffee brew.

There was an excited bark two floors below her, accompanied by muffled conversational shouting. The smell of smoke unhindered by smoke detectors tinted the air, so she slid closer to the coffee maker with a yawn of less-acrid air.

The night had been another long one, but the best couch between their four townhouses was in the basement downstairs, and she’d taken full advantage while her friends ran more of their tests. She slept like the dead, after all.

Heh.

Her hazy eyelights flickered brighter as her phone vibrated in her slack grip.

 _MamiChulita:_ _Alright, alright, I’ve got one: What kind of exercise do lazy people do?_

Crimson raised a brow, her grin tilting. It’d been a week since she’d slipped their cute human neighbor her number - a week since she and some of the others had come home from a bar kickback only to find that very same human hilariously drunk with their sisters.

_Crimson: none, if i’m doin’ right by my title. ;) but i’ll bite. what?_

She locked her screen again, forcing herself to be patient. The texts never faster just because she watched that damn ellipsis animate while the human typed up her response with a curious deliberacy.

The coffeemaker was finishing it’s brew at last, the nearly full pot attracting Crimson’s idle attention.

It had started with a joke of a text sent the following morning after the apparent drunk movie night - _a hangover is a sure *stein* of a good night._ Curiousity had kept straying her thoughts that morning, about whether their cute little neighbor would even message her back -

\- imagine her surprise and delight when you had not only answered by midday, but with a pun.

_… *Ale* say. Probably none of my booze-ness, but can monsters even get hangovers?_

It had devolved from there, and you’d been a reliable pun-buddy every day since.

Mostly it had been jokes back and forth, but along the way Crimson had picked up a few of your favorite foods, movies, your sense of humor… terrible, of course, just the way she liked it. And you didn’t get on her case for texting late at night - hell, half the time you were up anyways. Those texts were some of Crimson’s favorites, if she was being honest - you were always a little loopy, and had less of a filter.

Her phone chimed again, bring Crimson’s mind back to the present.

 _MamiChulita:_ _Diddly-squats._

Crimson snorted.

She contemplated her reply for a moment as she pulled out a few mugs from the cabinet above the coffeemaker. It was the evening, you didn’t usually get too loose-lipped till much later - but hey, it was Friday, right?

Crimson glanced towards the calendar Vellum had tacked up with pointed purpose next to the coffeemaker.

Yep. Friday. Screw it, she’d see if your buttons could be poked earlier today.

_Crimson: heh! not bad, cielita. still, you *exercising* restraint on a friday?_

She slid her phone to the counter, partially filling the cups. Her hand snagged open the nearby fridge door so she could reach in and snag a few different creamers before kicking the fridge shut again and doling out long-memorized servings of different flavors and amounts in each mug.

None of them had known what to expect when they found out there was one human in the row of townhouses that wouldn’t sell despite the generous offer. Nowhere else had enough space and comparative privacy after they’d been half-kicked out of their previous joined apartments, though, so they’d settled and crossed their phalanges. Luckily, it was _you_ . Odd, amiable, semi-mysterious you. Crimson had liked the look of you that day they moved in, both literally and by the spirit you seemed to have about you - and that night she’d found her sister actually happily _drunk_ , hanging out with you and the others… well, it wasn’t just anyone that could manage keeping up with that kind of group so readily.

And after this past week of texting banter, she was actually interested in keeping track of her phone most of the day. Simply put… you were _interesting_. And Crimson never had been too skilled at restraint, herself.

Another chime from her phone had the creamer abandoned just a little faster than necessary.

_MamiChulita: Fine then, smart skeleton, I see you - how do you get a hipster wet?_

Crimson’s eyelights brightened, and her grin turned absolutely wolfish.

_Crimson: why, you looking for some pointers?_

She didn’t even have time to put down her phone before you replied.

_MamiChulita: Who's to say I need them? ;p_

“... damn, _mami chulita_ indeed,” Crimson muttered, a familiar heat stirring in her marrow.

… What? She had standards. They just so happened to mostly involve innuendo.

And cute human girls that liked a little banter.

 _Crimson:_ _touche, sweetheart… don’t suppose you’re offerin hands-on demonstrations?_

Hardly a beat passed before your next text had Crimson actually laugh out loud.

_MamiChulita: You know, the reply I’m still looking for is ‘How?’_

Touche, times two.

_Crimson: heh. alright, how?_

She didn’t bother setting the phone down this time, anticipation hitching her grin higher as she watched that little ellipses pop up and animate for a long few seconds.

_MamiChulita: Toss them in the mainstream and watch them get vocal._

“ _hijo de puta,_ i’m in love-”

Crimson scooped up the mugs in one hand, balancing them as she turned back towards the stairs and the multi-colored plume of smoke curling up the floors of the townhouse. Her thumb was sliding deftly over her screen, laughing under her breath.

_Crimson: holy shit, you speak my language. have i told you about the time i saw a hipster bust into the ER for pizza-related burn injuries?_

_MamiChulita: No, tell me more right now??_

_Crimson: yeah, he ate the whole thing before it was cool._

* * *

 

The choked sound that escaped you drew the bored stare of a few fellow bus passengers.

_You: You are the worst. How dare you not be within high-fiving distance._

Still stifling a few more snickers, you watched as the little ellipses animated, keeping you from the taboo of risking eye contact with strangers on a bus. On the plus side, your car breaking down meant saving on gas money; on the down side, it meant crappy local public transit, and not just for work reasons.

Groceries waited for no woman. Not even a woman who lived a 15 minute direct drive from the nearest worthwhile grocery store, and had to resort to the bus for this week and likely many to come, given that your car’s latest last wheeze sounded ominously final.

_Crim-inallyCute: oof, caught red-handed. guess i owe you a little hands-on apology._

You rolled your eyes good-naturedly. Crimson was an unapologetic flirt, but it was so casual that while flattering and occasionally outright fluster-worthy, you’d learned this past week to never take it quite seriously.

 _You:_ _One of these days I’m gonna call you on those kinds of bluffs, you know._

_Crim-inallyCute: is that a promise?_

You managed to not make another sound, but you sure were one of those people grinning like an idiot at their phone in public.

_You: Only time will tell. Gtg, though- getting looks for your pun game making me look too not-miserable in transit. Talk later!_

_Crim-inallyCute: i’ll hold you to that. ttyl, cielita._

With a quiet huff, you grinned again, and slid your phone into your pocket. Your other hand readjusted it’s grip on the handles of your canvas bags full of groceries while you turned your gaze out the window to watch the blur of autumn trees speed by as the bus left the town center.

Thankfully you had your earbuds with you, music filtering out the inconvenient-convenience of your bus ride from the town center to the outskirts where you lived. The outskirts where, casually parked in the small lot in front of the row of townhouses you called home, was your utterly useless car that had sputtered it’s last wheezing breath just a few days ago. Your luck as rough as ever, too, you couldn’t even bring your car into a shop if you wanted to with your schedule this week. Really though, it was nearly two decades old at this point - you had a sinking feeling you’d finally have to bite the bullet and just get a new one. Whatever repairs were needed weren’t worth the cost, and you were pretty shy on that kind of spare money right now.

For now, though, the car issue was tabled for future-you’s consideration - one of the town bus routes thankfully made a long-winded loop out to the outskirts of town where you lived, allowing you to get into work… and get groceries.

It was nearly half an hour bus ride with the other stops taken into account - but the brakes were finally squealing up to the corner that marked _your_ stop, and with the bus mercifully emptier than it had been, you pushed to your feet and grappled your laptop bag and unruly groceries into submission without other people within bumping distance. With a flicker of a tired smile to the bus driver, you exited the bus alone and watched it trundle off around the corner.

… Okay, just a five minute walk to your place. You could handle that.

After a long, put-upon groan.

Stupid legs. Stupid-er car. Why wasn’t teleporting a thing? Stars, what you would do for _that_ kinda shortcut, even just once in a while.

Relying on your music to pump energy and determination into your work-exhausted and grocery-laden body, you rolled your shoulders and started forward, oblivious to nature’s sounds in favor of jamming out.

On the plus side, you didn’t have anything else to do tonight for once - tomorrow you had a trip out to Sofia’s mountain-side property to check in with construction for her and ensure they were on board with her latest tweaked request. You could go home, drop all this on the floor for later sorting with all the responsibility with which you obviously navigated life, maybe crack open something cold you’d definitely earned-

“HADES WAIT-!”

“oh _shit-_ ”

With no other warning thanks to the music filtering through your earbuds, you felt something enormous and _fluffy_ make contact with your back. Make contact here, naturally, meant crash with the force of a wrecking ball.

 _Dammit, I have fruit in here,_ was the only absurd thought you managed as your eyes shut, your arms too laden with spilling groceries to even shoot out and catch you. You braced for stoney impact-

“ _oof-”_

…

The impact wasn’t exactly _soft_ , but the sidewalk was a lot more padded and… anthropomorphic than you’d thought it’d be.

… It was also groaning.

Arms too tangled in bags to try and push upwards, your eyes opened, and your vision was filled with a sunset orange. Another blink cleared your vision, and the lift of your head didn’t hurt your chances of observation either. Apparently, your face hadn’t ended up on concrete, but rather an orange hoodie-

-an orange hoodie occupied by a tall skeleton woman, who had one arm haphazardly wrapped around you, and the other rubbing tenderly at the back of her skull.

“... Amber??” you wheezed. Your lungs were feeling decidedly compressed, given the fact that the fluffy contact made at your back had never left.

You turned your head slightly, peering over your shoulder.

“... And… Big Dog???”

“a _lot_ of dog,” Amber wheezed in agreement.

“Oh stars- Hades, off-!”

Your eyes barely had time to widen in recognition of Sapphire’s voice before you gasped in relief as the pressure lifted off of two paw-shaped concentrated points on your back. Almost immediately the relief in your gasp turned to an undignified squeak as something gripped the back of your jacket like the scruff on a puppy and lifted you wholesale off of your neighbor.

Not entirely, though- a happy pant announced the end of the _help_ , and you found yourself plopped in Amber’s lap as she sat up.

“Stars above, Hades, you’ve been spending too much time around Addy-”

You looked up, disoriented and still half-laden with grocery bag straps, just in time to catch Sapphire rolling to a fast stop. She was sporting a letterman style jacket over her usual brightly colored clothing and dark thigh-highs, with a number of punny, girl-power oriented patches on the jacket. Most notably, however, she was in a pair of classic rollerskates - the kind you’d see at a rink.

A hand on your shoulder tugged your attention back even closer to your immediate personal space - Amber was looking down at you, sitting upright. Her legs were half crossed around you, slightly trapped by your bags.

“fancy seein’ you here, neighbor,” she murmured, lifting a brow. There was humor in her voice, but the careful focus of her eyelights betrayed concern. “much as i’m fond of you _fallin’ for me_ , apologies that uh, it was a bit _assisted_. you okay?”

You huffed a laugh at the joke, cheeks warmer despite yourself. Considering the fact you were in her lap, and her apparently usual lidded gaze was hardly a handspan or two away from you, you considered that warmth justified.

“Bruised probably, but whole,” you said after a brief mental check. Your gaze shifted down to the tangle of straps around your arms - and to the spilled groceries that had escaped some of the bags. You grimaced.  “Er. You? I don’t even know how you got in front of me so fast-”

She waved a hand lazily, the same that had been rubbing at her skull. “was already on Hades’ tail,” she said with a crooked smile. This close, you thought you spied faint freckles on her bone, but you forced yourself to look away before you got too distracted.

You missed the way her own eyelights had been studying your expression.

“Remind me to look you up when there’s a fire, you sure act fast,” you struggled to sit back enough to stand, but it wasn’t easy with how tangled up you were - Amber’s arm shifted, almost delayed, unhooking from it’s loose steadying placement around your waist, freeing you further. Sapphire knelt down, already offering you a hand that you took gratefully, an apologetic look on her face.

You found the air a little colder when you were pulled from Amber’s lap, oddly enough, as if she’d been emitting warmth despite being a skeleton.

“I’m sorry, cute neighbor - Hades is normally a bit better about helping than that, but all of a sudden she wouldn’t stop for anything-” Sapphire began, her hands briefly squeezing your shoulders as she looked you over. “When we texted earlier you said you were burnt out, but that’s no reason to get road-burn too-!”

Clearly relieved to see you whole, she hugged you just as quickly. With a flutter in your chest at the earnestness of the action, you couldn’t help but chuckle as you returned the hug the best you could with the bags still twisted awkwardly in your grip.

Realizing your predicament, Sapphire pulled back, grinning sheepishly for a moment before playing it off with a wink and scooping down to snag up some lost items as you tried to sort what bag strap went where without dropping everything.

Amber snickered, standing once more and wryly plucking up a few groceries too and tucking them into the bags as you successfully untwisted them and opened them. “well, Hades stopped for _one_ thing, technically…”

Sapphire rolled her eyes, but you could see her grinning despite herself. Hades, meanwhile, wagged her tail fast enough to stir some of the leaves on the ground, looking like she’d ensured a job well done. Before your hand could join in the hunt for your groceries, you caught her wave her own hand - and suddenly the remaining items were surrounded in a hazy cerulean, lifted off the ground, and filtered themselves into the bags.

“Whoa-!” You gasped, face lighting up at the display. “Sapphire, you didn’t say you had _telekinesis-!”_

“Oh! Ah, woops? I mean, it’s gravity magic, technically,” she said, a haze of magic flickering over her cheekbones for just a moment as her gaze turned back to you. You weren’t certain, but you thought she looked kind of pleased - and as her hand lifted to rub at the back of her neck, surprisingly flustered. “This is simple stuff, really! Never thought to mention it, I suppose.”

“yeah, you should see what she gets up to when she gives it her all,” Amber supplied with a cheeky smile, her hands pushing her hoodie sleeves haphazardly up to her elbows. The hoodie was a zip-up, partially undone, and surprisingly fluffy on the inside. “talk about bein’ _floored._ ”

She looked entirely unapologetic for the pun, even when a flare of cerulean magic caught the edge of her hood and flipped it up over her head and tugged it down until she stumbled slightly.

“So!! Cute neighbor, who definitely shouldn’t pay any attention to my sister and her lazy punning! What brings you to scenic… here?” Sapphire inquired brightly, bracing her hands on her hips and looking you over with honest curiousity. Amber de-hooded herself, still laughing quietly, tucking one hand in her pocket and letting the other lower to Hades head. Hades, being over waist-high at the _shoulder_ on you, easily nuzzled into her hand with an admirable single-minded determination for pets.

“Bus stop,” you explained with a succinct grimace, head nodding towards the faded sign a handful of paces behind you. “Plus groceries. I was just about to walk home.”

Without missing a beat, Sapphire leaned in and plucked several bags from your unsuspecting grasp. With the way she beamed at you and rolled to your side to face the same direction with obvious intent, you couldn’t have stopped her if you’d had the heart or desire to try. Also, you were more than a little impressed with the fact that she was roller skating better than you walked.

“What a coincidence, we were just circling back from our walk with Hades,” Sapphire said, kicking forward into an easy roll that could match a walking pace. Remembering that you had to still walk to actually move, you shifted forward to keep pace at her side, a little less weary despite your slight newfound soreness for the company. “She’s been cooped up since yesterday, and tends to get a little… _too_ helpful if she doesn’t get her exercise.”

You glanced to the dog in question - at your other side, she trotted with a happily lolled tongue, head still pushing into Amber’s scritching hand.

“.... That checks out,” you mused, before you gaze flickered up to Amber. She was looking back down at you already, a thoughtful humor in her expression.

“... i find myself wonderin’,” she murmured upon being caught, the lilt of her voice feeling as if it matched the warm tones of the sunset over the horizon. You tilted your head obligingly as the three of you - plus Hades - continued onwards. “why would a lovely lady like yourself take a half-hour bus to get groceries when you’ve got a car.”

You sighed, the sound turning into a groan. Over your head, the sisters glanced at one another, clearly not expecting _that_.

You caught the tail end of the look. “My car broke down a couple days ago,” you explained tiredly. “With a _lot_ of finality. It’s an old model, but I thought I could squeeze another year out of it… Or, at least a week. Enough to get in another grocery round.” You slumped to one side, playing it up in order to avoid getting too morose about the problem. “One more week, always one more week we must beg for, yet too soon the end comes,” you mourned, putting on your best worst Shakespearean accent.

Sapphire seemed to be biting what sufficed for a lip, trying to look appropriately sympathetic, but very nearly breaking into laughter. From your now-daily text conversations and your movie night the previous week, you’d learned she had a thing for cheesy over-acting. On your other side, Amber wasn’t faring much better, but she wasn’t trying to hide it as much.

“misfortune claims the downtrodden first,” she agreed with exaggerated solemness.

Her hand, the one not still petting Hades, pulled a wrapped lollipop out of her pocket - it was small, practically bite-sized, but you recognized the wrapper from a local monster sweetsmaker that always ran a stall at the local street market. She offered it to you as gravely as if she offered a bouquet of mourning lilies.

You accepted it, adopting a comically aggrieved expression. “You’re too kind,” you murmured.

“you’re the strongest of us all, and so the gods must see you stumble,” Amber nodded, lifting her free hand as if to swoon at the thought.

Sapphire finally cracked, and started snickering behind her hand.

“You’re _both_ obscene,” she said emphatically, but she was smiling.

“you love it,” Amber grinned.

“I do and it’s all your fault,” she groaned, rolling her eyelights and unable to hide her smile behind her hand.

Successful, you laughed and playfully elbowed Amber as your co-conspirator, and she elbowed you back with a wink.

“so, righteous mourning aside, you’ve been bussing it since, then? that’s rough, buddy. human public transit’s pretty… _half-hearted_ , around here,” Amber continued, pulling another lollipop out as you unwrapped the one she’d handed you and popped it into your mouth. It was the candy flavor you were most craving right now, as this kind of monster lollipop always was, bringing a smile to your lips and further improving your mood even in the wake of the laughter. She rolled hers between her fingers, and Hades made a helpful-sounding _boof_ as Amber nodded thoughtfully. “hopefully your work’s closer than the store?”

You made a noncommittal sound, shrugging. Sapphire’s head was turned in curiousity, the sound of her skates occasionally kicking off the asphalt almost melodic background ambience at this point.

“Probably about the same distance, all said and done,” you admitted. Amber grimaced in sympathy, and Sapphire shook her head. If you were paying more attention to her expression, you would have noticed the sudden focus as something occurred to her.

“And you don’t have another way to get there…?” She said.

“Not right now. Might have to get a new car, honestly, and I’m not relishing _that_ choice or expense.”

“where d’you work, anyways?”

Your brows perked up, glancing back to Amber at the question. “Oh well, it’s basically right by that grill that opened recently, a block away from the park nearest to-”

Amber shook her head. “nah, neighb’s. i mean what’s your job?”

It was so direct, you blinked. She seemed to notice, and pulled the lollipop from her mouth with a wry, crooked tilt to her grin.

“‘s’just, you’ve never mentioned it to any of us, right? i know sapphi’s been dyin’ to know-”

“ _Amber,_ ” Sapphire hissed, but Amber shrugged, popping the sucker back in her mouth.

“‘course, if it’s top-secret, that’s cool. but it’d be cool to know - you’re pretty chill, for a human neighbor-”

“-I’m not hearing this, my own sister is not doing this right now with that little tact-”

“-i’d like to know what’s got you bein’ such a workaholic even my sis is impressed with the dedication.”

She winked at you, and on your other side, Sapphire’s words turned to quiet groaning, her head falling into her lifted free hand.

“Where did I go wrong? Haven’t I been a good big sister?” She mumbled theatrically. You were pretty sure you saw that glimmer of cerulean magic on her cheekbones now. “Was it the sugar when she was in stripes-? Kings have mercy on me, I’m sorry for giving her honey, but I’d like to see anyone try taking it away from her _successfully_ -”

It was all stage-muttered, clearly meant to be heard by Amber, who was simply looking at you still, though she looked mildly amused.

You, meanwhile, had taken the moment to blush.

Honestly, you hadn’t entirely realized you hadn’t mentioned your specific occupation before. Several weeks had passed since your skeletal neighbors had moved in, and your days were so packed - now, even your minimal spare time in the evenings was taken up, _swept up_ by your new neighbors, even just most often in text form. You knew some of them better than others - hell, you’d barely met a couple of them - but, still....

“I, uh, didn’t realize,” you admitted, looking embarrassed. Out of your peripheral, you saw Sapphire lift her head, looking towards you. “It’s not a secret or anything - I mean, I guess it’s just… all I do, anyways, so I try not to talk about it outside of all the work I do? I’m not… used to talking about myself, anymore?”

Your companions were quiet, and you didn’t quite have the courage to see what their expressions were.

“- I mean - anyways, that doesn’t matter! Just try not to talk about work too much, since I know I work too much,” you shrugged, shaking your head and quickly forging forward before either could interrupt. “But! I’m an architect. Y’know, building, planning, design. Nothing too exciting, right?”

“... that’s a joke question, right…?”

“You’re an _architect?!”_

You were startled to a stop just as you saw the parking lot to your little row of townhouses come into view. Sapphire had suddenly spun so deftly on your skates you didn’t entirely comprehend the athletics behind it, and she came to a deft stop in front of you.

Her eyelights _sparkled_.

“I. Um. Yes?”

More question than answer, but-

“THAT IS SO COOL.”

You blinked. Were the sparkles around her face too, now? And wait-

“It… _is?_ ”

Her hands lifted, your groceries dangling from her arms as if they were no more a struggle to lift than cotton candy, and she clasped your shoulders.

“YES!! I MEAN- I _mean_ , what the heck! You design buildings and… and homes and stuff! _Stylishly!_ That takes _smarts_ , starshine! And an eye for design - ooooh, wowie, knowing you I bet you’ve got some _killer_ tastes-”

You were blushing now, lighting up like a christmas tree.

“you have any kinda specialty?” Amber asked. Even she was leaning in, and her eyelights looked like they had the same kind of spark Sapphire’s did - her gaze wasn’t even quite as lidded as you’d always seen her with previously.

Your free hand lifted, rubbing at your neck. “I mean, I’m low on the totem pole where I work, to put it lightly… but not out of experience. When I was coming out of college, designs that work with renewable energy, and especially those that are built for social purposes with disabilities and different needs in mind were my focus. Since monsters surfaced I’ve expanded that and done as much research as I can to learn about monster architecture and design - you guys have some really cool ideas about how to organize space and make places unique-! Everything from the variety of shapes in doors and windows, the incorporation of area-specific building materials to best weather the environment and likely magics, the clever venting mechanisms and organization to easier replace all kinds of things when magic gets exuberant - hell, the incorporation of magic and magitech is _fascinating,_ I recently read official accounts from the Royal Records regarding the ways they updated different Underground areas to adjust to _-”_

Realized you’d stumbled into rambling, you suddenly trailed off, readying yourself for glazed over looks.

To your surprise, though, when you glanced back to Sapphire you saw she looked utterly awed and _delighted,_ and Amber looked as if she’d found a puzzle piece that had been eluding her for years.

“ _So_ cool,” Sapphire emphasized, shaking you lightly in her excitement. A flustered laugh broke free of you for it, helping her remember that shaking the human wasn’t a great choice. She let go of you, twirling back to your side so you could keep walking forward, but from the eager look on her face she wasn’t finished. “Don’t you for one second think it’s boring or uninteresting! I’m so sorry anyone’s made you feel that way - but trust me when I say I _love_ hearing people get passionate-”

“it really is cool,” Amber agreed, looking at you with appreciative consideration. “those specialties are pretty rad, haven’t heard of a lot of humans getting invested in monster techniques ‘n preferences. i’ve actually got a friend or two you might be interested in talking to if you’re interested in that sorta thing…”

She trailed off thoughtfully, but after a beat bumped you with her elbow again, grinning a little wider. There was something so genuine about it that you couldn’t help but return the grin.

“hey, you’re in the nerd crew too, officially - good company,” she mused.

“Nerd Crew?” you echoed, lifting a brow.

Amber chuckled. “yep. several of us skeleton sisters are closet nerds, believe it or not. you’re not alone in bein’ into somethin’ that involves math ‘n related jargon.”

“Amber’s an electrical engineer!” Sapphire cut in proudly and more than a little teasingly. Amber shrugged when your eyes widened and darted back to her, appreciative yourself.

“trained as one, anyways. freelancin’ ‘n workin’ odd jobs nowadays, but you could say the nerd-ing inclination never works outta the marrow once it’s in there,” she elaborated with casual vagueness. You were deeply curious, but didn’t press more on that for now -

-even if you were _really_ wanting to know what on earth she’d worked on previously, and what _freelance electrical engineering looked like_.

“Now _that’s_ cool,” you agreed, bumping your shoulder into her in return while Sapphire nodded. “Compared to architecture-”

“-Nope, none of that!” Sapphire cut you off, brow furrowing as you approached the small flight of stone stairs leading up the slight slope from the parking lot to your townhouses. To your surprise and awe, she walked up them without issue even in roller skates. “No comparing yourself like that! Your own interests and career are perfectly valid and kickass all of  their own volition!”

“i wouldn’t fight her on this,” Amber said in a stage whisper, leaning in conspiratorially. “she really gets _on a roll_ with her encouragement. you’ve never had anyone believe in you as hard as sapphi will.”

From the way Sapphire’s eyelights glinted with what you would’ve chalked down as pure determination alongside that charming smile of hers, you weren’t about to debate that point.

With a playful, and honestly flustered, sigh, you gave in. “Alright then, no belittling myself out loud-”

“ _Ever-”_ Sapphire enunciated each syllable as if they were their own words.

You lifted your free hand, surrendering with a smile.

… It was honestly appreciative.

You’d… never had anyone quite so aggressively supportive in your life before. Casually downplaying your work, your effort… it had become something of second nature at some point. You didn’t even think about it nowadays.

“Alright, I’ll work on it,” you replied. She squinted at you as your group approached your door, but finally nodded when Hades suddenly barked, a happy sound as she finally moved away from Amber’s hand to headbutt into Sapphire’s middle.

“I’ll accept it,” she said, smile returning. She bumped her shoulder into yours as you rose up the steps, digging in your pockets to pull your keys out. “Hey, tell you what - to celebrate your accepting of how excellent a human you are, how about I bring over some ingredients and the three of us have an impromptu taco party? I’ll do all the cooking!”

You were opening your door, leading her and Amber and Hades in, given the shared groceries they’d helped with. It was second nature, oddly enough - you were so familiar with them, especially Sapphire, that you didn’t even hesitate to wave them in.

“Oh- I mean, you don’t have to feel obligated-! Though… it’s not like I mind having you over, and I wasn’t planning on doing more work for once,” you admitted, biting your lip. If her tacos were anywhere close to as good as Scarlet’s lasagna had been, then tonight’s meal was suddenly sounding leagues more appetizing than partaking in leftovers.

“ _Hell_ yes-” Sapphire interrupted briefly, looking equal parts surprised and delighted. Amber snickered at her honest reaction to hearing you weren’t busy, and you had the good graces to look briefly abashed for it.

“ _For once_ , I know, I know,” you continued. “I mean, I probably ought to with the way my boss was shoveling unwanted bit jobs at me all week, but since it’s Friday and I’m heading out for some site checking tomorrow anyways, I was just gonna play some videogames and have a drink to chill out…”

“videogames and friday night tacos? drinks? hades sprawling over our laps so we can’t move for the cuddly warmth?” Amber drawled, as if considering it slowly. From the grin on her face, though, you knew this was right up her alley. She hummed, before huffing a laugh. “sounds like my kinda party. ‘course, that’s only if you’re down for a couple skeleton-crashers takin’ up space in your apartment, honey.”

She winked at you, and a bit of warmth crept up your cheeks as a happy warmth settled in your belly.

“... Honestly? I don’t think I could _want_ to say no to friends like you guys,” you said, smiling at the two of them and lightly scratching one cheek as the embarrassment got the better of you.

 _Friends_.

That’s what they were to you now - and several of the others, too - Crimson, Scarlet, Vell, Pepper... Maybe even all of them soon enough, at this rate. Sapphire for sure, and Amber - well, hell, there was no way you _couldn’t_ get along with her.

For the first time in too long, you had proper friends - ones you really wanted to get to know all the better. And from the way Sapphire made a sound dangerously close to a squeak before beaming and dragging you into a physics-defying hug on skates, and the pleased, quiet ‘ _nyeh heh…’_ you caught from Amber as her face turned vaguely upwards with a subtle glow of orange tinting her cheekbones...

You had a good feeling the sentiment was some kind of mutual.

If Hades hadn’t taken that moment to suddenly lift onto her hind paws and tackle the three of you to the ground in a very literal dogpile that devolved from yelps into laughter and wrestling with some 200 pounds of dog, you might have remembered to ask why the hell Sapphire was so good on roller skates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .... _*jazz hands*_
> 
> After far too long, we're back! °˖✧ヽ(TヮT)ノ✧˖° 
> 
> I just want to say a quick and _huge_ thank you to everyone who left comments previously, and in the meantime - both here and over at my art blog. Life got a bit crazy, but it was you sweethearts that kept me from feeling like no one was interested in this decidedly gay and niche effort of mine! I love these lady skeletons, and hearing about how you guys love them too makes all the difference in the world to me.
> 
> Chapters will start coming regularly now again, so leave those comments and let me know what you think & what you like most! Next chapter really kicks some things into gear, so tell me who you like, who you're hoping to see more of, and any and all lady-loving feels you've got. ✧∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿


	6. In Which Technically, This Counts As A Moonlit Italian Rendezvous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _For once, she didn’t have her hoodie on - just a loose tanktop and galaxy-print leggings with legwarmers._
> 
> _Apparently, the freckle-like marks on her cheekbones extended all the way down to her arms. Not that you were staring. Or at least, not that you got caught staring._  
> 
> _… Again._

You stared hard at the boxes on your counter, seriously contemplating your life choices.

“It seemed reasonable at the time,” you muttered to yourself, arms crossed. You had an old graphic tee and a simple pair of comfortable sweatpants on, the baggy kind that almost made it full-circle back to stylish streetwear… that is, if you didn’t look too hard and notice the couple of minor holes. Or how worn the elastic waist band was. Or the slight stains of paint near one hip from that time you’d had to cover up a few scuffs in the paint of your apartment.

Your stomach growled, and you sighed, pulling out your phone and pulling up the first message in your text history. There was another chance to weigh your choices… but it took only a few seconds of waffling before you caved.

_You: Hey, I don’t suppose you’re home right now?_

There was only a moment’s pause before the ellipses started animating on the other end. Your expression lit up-

_LaughySapphi: I’m actually out with a few of the others right now - sparring night!_

Your expression fell again, pouting in the otherwise empty quietness of your apartment.

_You: Aw, damn..._

_You: … Wait, sparring night?_

That was a new one. With how frequently you messaged each other - hell, it had been a month and some change since your new neighbors and now-friends moved in, and you were pretty sure there hadn’t been a day since exchanging numbers that you and Sapphire hadn’t texted at least a few times - you were pretty sure you’d remember a mention of ‘sparring night.’

Then again, she _had_ said she stayed active with a lot of... activities… and that she ‘trained.’ You figured she meant at a gym, though.

Silly you, apparently.

_LaughySapphi: A handful of us keep in some old habits and up to personal snuff by going… all out in some sparring matches once a month! We have to go a bit out of the way to do it. Our sisters are a bit too lazy, but sometimes we get some of them to join in or at least watch. Partial success today, even managed to get Amber here!_

“All out?”

… You weren’t sure if you were relieved to not be there, or _really wanted to be there_.

_You: Well then, I’m rooting for you! :)_

_LaughySapphi: .... Really? Even though they’re also your friends?_

You huffed a laugh to yourself. She always had a particular glimmer to her eyelights when she got excited or mischievous, and you could practically picture it now. As you’d recently discovered, Amber got the same glimmer… and so did the other girls, that drunk movie night. You were pretty fond of it at this point.

_You: Of course! I’m rooting for all of you, but current texting privileges mean you get the biggest rooting. Go kick some coccyx!_

_LaughySapphi: …_

_LaughySapphi: Well then… as you wish, cute neighbor ;)_

_LaughySapphi: -Oh, but before I go and remind them who has officially received the best cheering - was there something you needed?_

_You: Nah, it’s nothing important. Have fun, I’ll talk to you later!_

_LaughySapphi: I’ll hold you to that!_

You had that one particular grin on your face as you slid your phone back into your pocket. The one that you tended to get more often these days, that felt just a little too dorky - but anytime you tried to shake it off, it came back.

Still, you put your hands on your hips, sighing despite the good mood your new friends always put you in. You’d inquire about maybe spectating their next spar match another time… The thought of getting to see more of the small bits of magic you’d seen as you’d hung out with them more brought that grin back though.

You’d had that gaming night with Amber and Sapphire last week, and that had ended up a blast - Amber hadn’t been lying either, Hades _had_ ended up sprawled over your laps. She was surprisingly comfortable though, even after all the incredible food Sapphire had cooked up.

That experience alone had been a magic-filled riot, as it turned out.

She was a bit of an eccentric cook to put it one way; you felt more like you were at a hibachi grill watching a chef show than at your own kitchen bartop, but she hadn’t dropped a thing beyond the intentional scrap of cheese for Hades. Amber had filled you in on some of her sister’s earliest forays into cooking while Sapphire flipped spatulas and ingredients about, and been rewarded with a large hunk of cheese hazed in cerulean magic shoved at her mouth that forced the taller sister to chew and thus be quiet for a bit. In the end, after the best tacos - and later dessert empanadas - you’d ever had, you’d all ended up trying a variety of the games you had, proving that Sapphire was absurdly good at anything involving racing, and Amber at anything involving puzzles - with both evenly matched at fighting games. Even though they were your own games, you’d had to fight hard to keep up and defend your own scores, and more than once there was an instance of ‘cheating’ by way of conveniently magic-thrown pillow.

It had turned into a movie night where you found out that both sisters were far too skilled with comedic timing and impressions, and you’d all passed out on your own couch after a few more laughter-filled hours. You’d woken up in something of half a cuddle pile with you half slumped onto Sapphire, and Amber half sprawled over the two of you, tucked in by Hades who’d apparently gotten up, dragged your comforter from your bed downstairs, and then resituated herself back on your laps.

Needless to say, you’d been baffled and then amused, as well as a bit embarassed. After some coffee, Sapphire had hauled her half-asleep sister onto her back with magic, grinned softly and said she looked forward to your next ‘night off’, and ‘got out of your hair’ with Hades at her side.

… You had been _sorely_ tempted to take another night off soon, but you were getting too close to the wrap of your biggest architecture project.

Sofia and you were in constant communication over it, and within a couple weeks you knew it’d be done with particular thanks to the specialty monster construction crew she’d hired - and just in time for the coming snowfall. Given the fact that the sprawling property the enormous house was being built on was halfway up a mountain, you couldn’t afford the delay of days off, even if your boss was making your life hell over keeping the project.

That’s how you’d ended up like this - midweek, at your wits end but wrapped for the night on your work, with three freshly delivered pizzas on your counter.

“Good job, self,” you muttered. “Yep, totally reasonable - three pizzas now, leaving leftovers to keep eating a no-brainer for days. Totally won’t go bad or stale before you can manage to eat it all, nope.”

You groaned, drumming your fingers on your hip.

You’d intended to ask Sapphire if she wanted some, maybe her sister - but clearly that wasn’t going to pan out. You imagined it must be the more active sisters with her, if they were sparring - so that meant Scarlet was out, though you’d hesitate given her preferences anyways - Pepper too, and Vellum… Maybe you could text Crimson? But she might be there too, judging from the couple times you’d seen her and Scarlet interact as you came home - Crimson seemed to support her sister a lot, despite her attitude…

You meandered over to the fridge, exhaling. Pizza alone was fine, but now you’d made yourself kinda sad by having _this_ much pizza just… here. Alone. You rummaged around for a drink, figuring the matter wasn’t worth bothering the remaining sisters over, and started resigning yourself to your fate-

A quiet sound echoed through the wall from next door.

You straightened from your position at the fridge, brows lifting and glancing towards the wall that joined your place with Vellum and Serif’s.

For something to actually make it through to you, it had to be _loud._ You’d finally confirmed just yesterday that there was indeed some _intense_ soundproofing installed between the townhouses, to your surprise- you had just gotten home from work, about to walk inside when Pepper and Cinnamon’s door had slammed open, startling you - all the more so when you saw Cinnamon emerge at a stroll, patting a fire out on her shoulder with Pepper and Sapphire sprinting out behind her, holding a pot full of… fire. Inside the townhouse, there was an alarm blaring that you hadn’t even heard a peep of with the door closed.

Everything had been totally fine, they assured you - Pepper with the air of a woman who set things on fire all the time, Sapphire with the air of a woman who accidentally committed arson alongside her, and Cinnamon with an odd lopsided grin that made you wonder if she saw more rogue fire than… not fire.

In any case, _someone_ next door was home currently. That or Addy had knocked over something huge.

Biting your lip, you considered your options… then, with a shrug filled with a determination you rarely possessed, you snatched up your pizza boxes and jogged down your stairs to slip on some shoes and a hoodie.

Thirty seconds later, you were knocking on Serif and Vellum’s front door.

…

A minute after _that_ , you knocked louder.

Well, pounded. For good measure.

As you rocked on your heels with a little too much energy, you listened closely - and finally, picked up on some distant noise that sounded distinctly like tiny barks.

Finally, the door opened, and you found yourself staring up at Serif, soot marks covering her face but for a clean, goggle-shaped ring around her sockets.

Your name slipped from her, unmistakable surprise in her tone, before she grinned with her usual casual look. For once, she didn’t have her hoodie on - just a loose tanktop and galaxy-print leggings with legwarmers.

Apparently, the freckle-like marks on her cheekbones extended all the way down to her arms. Not that you were staring. Or at least, not that you got _caught_ staring.

… Again.

“hey, sorry - was uh, listening to music,” she said, huffing a laugh as she leaned in the doorway. Her eyelights flickered down to the pizza boxes in your hand, and a bone brow lifted as she looked back to you. “... pick up a second job, sunshine?”

You laughed, one hand lifting to rub at your neck as you grinned sheepishly back. “Gods, no, with my current workload my job _is_ my second job,” you joked. Mostly. “Actually, well - see, I might’ve had eyes bigger than my stomach when I ordered food while finishing up work earlier, and I was thinking it’d be nice to… have some help taking care of it?”

“so you turned to one of your many neighbors without a stomach,” she said sagely, grin growing crooked.

You laughed. “Hey, I’ve seen how you all polish pizza off! You’re all starting to make me think a stomach might be a _limitation,_ if anything,” you replied, lifting your own brow back at her.

“touche,” she mused. “still, would’ve figured you’d’ve gone for…” she trailed off, her eyelights brightening in realization. “ah. right - sparring night. vell’s out for it, too.”

You realized what coming to her at this point looked like the same moment she did, and your free hand was already lifting, waving quickly between you in denial.

“Oh, no- I mean, yes, some of the others are out, but no as in, it’s not like you were second choice or something, just-!”

“-just that i was second choice,” Serif laughed, but before you could get more embarrassed and protest again she lifted a hand to waved you lazily off. “nah, don’t worry about it. i know i haven’t been the most available or puttin’ myself out there for hangin’ out - been pretty busy myself.”

She didn’t elaborate further, but she did go quiet, arms crossing as she leaned against the doorway. You bit your lip, but waited - she wasn’t wrong, after all. You hadn’t spent much time around her yet, in comparison to some of the others, several of which were at least texting friends by now. Mostly you’d stop in the workday evenings by her stoop on the way to your own - she and Crimson tended to hang out there, apparently ‘taking a break from a break’ with Addy between them. You’d chat for a bit, but you’d inevitably end up going inside sooner rather than later, tired but needing to get more work done to hit your deadlines.

Honestly though, you’d been thinking that maybe you _should_ try a bit harder to get to know the other girls. They were all different, of course, getting along as well as you did so far with some didn’t mean you’d be best friends with all of them. Yet… you’d never had a _bad_ run-in with any of them.

You wanted to get to know the others, too.

Sparing you from your brief thought purgatory at last, Serif finally nodded, her grin going softer.

“alright, i’m in. gimme just a moment to wipe whatever you’ve been staring at off my face and we can chill on the stoop and take care of that pizza problem. if you don’t mind eating outside?”

You shook your head, flustered at the teasing but relaxing in your relief of Serif not taking offence in any way. “Nah, it’s still warm enough out with this hoodie, and stars know I could use some fresh air.”

Serif chuckled. “i feel you there. be back in a moment.”

She closed the door behind her, leaving you to take a seat on the stoop and set the pizzas down. The sun had long since set, and the sky was clear - the light pollution of the town wasn’t as bad out closer to the edge of the city limits like you were, so you could see a decent spread of stars overhead. They were as pretty as ever - you might not be a total astronomy buff, but it was hard to get tired of staring up at something as beautiful as the starry night sky.

You were still staring upwards contentedly when the door opened a couple minutes later, revealing Serif once more in her long blue hoodie, only now sporting a soot-less face and a mixed pack of soda and alcohol.

“wasn’t sure what your poison would be,” she shrugged, shutting the door behind her - but not before Addy slipped out after her. The small, fluffy white dog immediately bounded into your lap, lifting onto her hind legs and aiming to lick your face.

You laughed and immediately got to petting her, wisely managing to angle her aim off center enough to miss the sloppy dog smooch. “No, that’s perfect, thank you- and Addy, no! There- Good girl, hello to you too-”

Serif took a seat on the other side of the pizza box stack, setting the drinks down for you to take your pick of. Once you had chosen your preference she snagged a hard cider and popped the top off with her bare thumb.

She caught you staring in mild awe - that sort of little display still hadn’t gotten old around these skeleton women. With a wink, she popped the top off your bottle too with a small flare of deep blue magic.

“cheers,” she toasted. You clinked your bottle with hers and echoed the toast, other hand buried in Addy’s soft fur and scratching her into merciful complacency.

“Take your pick-” you gestured, sliding the boxes around to show her each of the flavors. She didn’t hesitate to pluck up a slice of hawaiian, and as you chose your own first slice - dodging artfully out of Addy’s way and plopping her on the step below you to keep your slice safe - you laughed. “I feel like I should’ve guessed you’d be the hawaiian type.”

“oh?” she asked, grinning after a bite. Like the other girls, her incisors were sharper than a humans would be. “how so?”

You shrugged, mouth full of your own satisfying first piece. Your struggle to find a pizza-companion had let it cool off just the right amount, thankfully enough. “Dunno - just… don’t you think it’s a certain type of person that likes hawaiian?”

“sure,” she nodded. “people with excellent taste.”

Her crooked grin made you nearly snort on your next bite.

“Okay, that was smooth,” you admitted once you recovered. “Point goes to Hawaiian lovers, this round.”

She shot you a fingergun with her free hand as she swallowed her next bite.

“so if you like hawaiian too, and given the fact you ordered one, i’m feelin’ awfully suspicious you might be, would that mean you get the point too?” she mused, shooting you a sly look.

“If that was indeed my ingenious plan, clearly I’d never reveal it.”

That earned you a proper laugh from her, and you grinned in victory, silently lifting a second slice of pizza in cheers.

Comfortable quiet reigned for a few minutes as you both enjoyed some clearly mutually needed break time and food, broken only occasionally by a particularly pointed pant from Addy as she begged with the most dangerous set of puppy eyes you’d ever witnessed. Other than the couple times Serif slipped her a bit of crust, your companion largely kept her head tipped back, gazing at the stars like you had been.

For the first time this week, you felt yourself properly relaxing.

As you were caving for not the first time and sneaking Addy one of your toppings, Serif broke the quiet at last. “y’know, the others talk about you a lot.”

“Oh?” you responded eloquently. “Er. Fingers crossed they’re saying decent things?”

She chuckled, gaze shifting from the stars overhead down to you.

“... sapphire the most, probably. but she’s pretty talkative in general, so that may be skewin’ results,” she mused. “... vell does, too. she’s been hoppin’ to figure out an ‘even better drunken movie spectacular’ - crim’s said scar’s been preening about how well the lasagna went off, too. even pepper’s mentioned you fondly. not sure how much you talk to her, but… that’s sayin’ somethin’. compliments of any kind aren’t exactly her common fare.”

You were blushing at this point. Taking refuge in your drink, you tipped it back to buy you a few moments.

“... Well, I really like them too,” you finally answered as you put the emptied bottle down. Idly, you picked up one last piece of pizza, not precisely hungry anymore, but not full either. “It’s been… well, wild is putting it pretty accurately,” you admitted with a smile, glancing back to her as you took a bite. Her expression was casual, surprisingly hard to read, honestly. “But I’m not gonna lie, I’ve loved every minute of it. Even Addy here stealing my coffee. And Hades knocking me over that one time. And being sorta kidnapped for that movie night.”

That pulled another laugh out of Serif, leaving her with a crooked grin as she eyed you thoughtfully.

“... yeah, that’s pretty much solid _modus operandi_ around us,” she replied.

“Hey, with the kind of spirit you all have… I’m into it,” you said with an amicable shrug. It was your turn to look up to the stars. Damn, you wish you could name more than a couple of constellations… “I’d say I missed having friends like this - even the beginning of friendship kinda friends - but honestly… not sure I’ve ever quite clicked with a group so well.”

Serif was quiet, but you could tell she was looking at you. Strangely enough, you didn’t feel any pressure behind it - like she’d wait either way, whether you chose to say more or not. This was the longest you’d hung out with her alone, but it was strangely… relaxing.

“... I guess there’s just a difference between having friends, y’know, getting along well with others and being able to strike up conversation and all,” you gestured vaguely with what was left of your slice, “and having… *Friends*. With a capital ‘F’, I suppose. Or a hopeful ‘best’ prefix added in there down there line.”

You took a few moments to finish off your pizza. At your feet, Addy was rolling, going for gold in competitive cuteness begging. You slipped her the last bite of your crust.

“... Eh, I’m probably getting too ahead of myself. Friendship pizza does that to me,” you said, lifting a hand and rubbing at your neck, sheepishly glancing back to Serif. “Dunno. I guess I’m just… happy that you all moved in. That I got to meet you - you’re a fun bunch, not quite like any group of relatives or otherwise I’ve met before.”

Serif had leaned forward, propping an elbow on her raised knee, and resting her chin in her hand. Her skull was turned to look at you, and you noticed a wry tugging of her mouth at your words, her grin going a little wider.

“you have no idea,” she murmured. Before you could think about whether to ask, she continued. “... but hey, don’t sweat it. guess i was just curious myself - you could say our ‘group’ has never really taken to one person in the way they have so far to you.”

You huffed an embarassed laugh, cheeks warm. There wasn’t anything you could think to say to that.

She winked at you, teasing and chill all in one. “i think i see what they mean, really. there’s somethin’ about you that’s easy to get along with. ‘m guessin’ the others so far feel the same. sure makes a girl interested in knowin' more.”

“I was thinking that about you-!” you interjected, leaning forward. Serif looked surprised at this, eyelights growing a little larger as she looked at you in question. “I mean- that you’re easy to get along with - you’re just… laidback, and I dunno. Talking to you’s no pressure, I think. Like you understand a lot, but also aren’t going to push if you don’t need to? But are still engaging?”

You gestured, masking the accidental rambling as your mind caught up with your mouth by acting playfully offended at how genuinely chill she was. Her sockets widened further until her expression finally cracked and her hand lifted to her forehead, quiet laughter shaking her shoulders until it became softly audible, her eyesockets almost crinkling at the corners.

“... _stars_ , you’re honest when you wanna be, aren’t you?” she managed to say around it.

The infectious mirth made her eyelights sparkle in a way that was oddly familiar.

“Hey, being honest when it comes to compliments is crucial,” you said emphatically. “Compliments are the best thing to be honest about! I mean. There’s probably a lot out there that’s worth being honest about, but… still.”

“an excellently worded argument,” Serif chuckled, looking more genuinely amused by the second. You wiped the crumbs from the pizza off on your pants, leaning back to glance over at her - only to find yourself handed another of the same drink you'd just had, your favored pick.

Serif was grinning at you, a single eyebrow raised as she casually tempted you to hang out just a little bit longer.

Your hand lifted and wrapped around the drink, cold condensation beading against your skin as her grin widened and a flick of magic popped the top for you.

“Oh c’mon, I’m practically Socrates over here with how good these points are," you picked up the thread, trying to copy her wink.

She snorted into her drink, and waggled a lazy brow at you. “don’t you mean pythagoras? if you’re wantin’ to _triangulate_ a better _angle_ to your arguments…”

“... Serif, you are the worst for holding out on me with those math puns.”

“woops. guess i’ll have to… _sum up_ the basics to get in good with you again?”

“Keep talkin’ math and pizza to me, skeleton lady, and we’ll see if it _averages_ out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _*more jazz hands*_ Right at the top I need to say _thank you so much_ to everyone who left a comment last chapter! I genuinely thought hardly anyone would miss this fic, or think happily enough to leave a comment, and... well, you sweethearts all went and gave my poor wlw a total shock of love and awe at your wonderful words. I haven't replied yet to everyone thanks to the holidays, but I'm back on it and once I get a little shuteye I'll be responding away once more  <3 I genuinely can't explain what it means to get comments from you guys - you all and your words are absolutely the fuel keeping this train of disaster gay girls just trying to live their best lives going! <3 <3
> 
> Onwards-
> 
> So honestly, this whole bit was part of a larger chapter - but with a few more events that occur, it was getting a bit obscene in length even by _my_ standards... so I decided to cut it here so I could post another chapter sooner rather than later.
> 
> Besides, today's the last day of 20gayteen! How could I _not_ send it off with a wlw-skeleton salute?
> 
> Hope you all have lovely days and lovelier starts to the new year - fingers crossed 2019 gets it's nonsense together, and the rest of us with it, eh? 
> 
> 20biteen, here we come >:D


	7. In Which Having Neighbors Feels an Awful Lot Like Having Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“Oh, but speaking of nightmare fuel, is your boss still giving you trouble-?”_

“-Honestly, I’m exacting when it comes to quality standards on my projects, but everything was not only perfect, but one step ahead of schedule. That crew really is worth their weight in gold-”

_ “Whatever you do, don’t mention that around the building site. I hear Mettaton’s got a special tap into the going’s on around his personal construction crew - he takes a lot of idle chatter as inspiration, it turns out.” _

“Inspiration? For… for what? … Stars, what would he even  _ do _ with a gold metaphor?”

_ “I’ve seen the guy’s browser history. Trust me, you don’t wanna know. _ ”

You laughed into the night air, leaning against the rail of your balcony. It wasn’t the first time Sofia had casually alluded to knowing people in the strangest and not uncommonly highest of places. In the interest of your own sanity, you generally decided not to ask, no matter how tempting.

“Sounds like nightmare fuel, if I’m being honest. Kinky nightmare fuel, probably, but still. Nightmares.”

_ “That’s an awfully interesting addition to that phrase, Archie. You’re gonna get me wondering what’s in  _ **_your_ ** _ browser history if you’re not careful-” _

Hopefully the choked sound you made was stifled enough to not be heard from the other end of the line.

“C’mon, Sofia-”

There was a breathy chuckle on the other end of the line. Warm-cheeked and shaking your head, you grinned idly up towards the night sky, tracing a pattern on the surface of the railing.

_ “Oh, but speaking of nightmare fuel, is your boss still giving you trouble-?” _

“Over this project? Naturally - he’s still pissed I think that you specifically requested me, and declined when he ‘recommended’ that he or another one of the lead architects in the firm take lead on it. Not that his ongoing fit means anything. Like I said when I accepted the job last year, I get it done, hell or high water. Granted, it’s a bit of a hell  _ and _ high-water scenario, but we’re in the home stretch - nothing copious amounts of caffeine and being only a week or two out from completion doesn’t get me through.”

You heard a hum on the other end of the line. With how often you communicated with Sofia over the duration of this project of building her enormous, ultra tech-enhanced house - you couldn’t help but wonder if she was planning on running a super-private rental scenario with how many rooms there were - you could pick apart the basic emotion behind even something like one of her hums. Definite amusement in this one… and the weighing of a plan of action.

_ “... Are you  _ **_sure_ ** _ you don’t want me to ensure he’s too… ‘preoccupied’ with real problems to give you hell?” _

“I remain terrified of what on Earth that sort of preoccupation entails, so I’ll keep standing firm on ‘please don’t terrorize my asshole boss, who  _ does  _ indeed sign my paychecks and keeps me on health insurance’. But hey, I promise you’ll be the first to know if that changes within the next couple weeks.”

_ “I’ll hold you to that, Archie.” _ You could hear the grin in her voice.

“I’d expect nothing less,” you replied, grinning right back. 

There was a distant beeping from her end of the call then, followed by multiple chimes and a veritable chorus of low alarms. 

“ _ Damn- so much for those adjustments, which one of those boneheads thought…” _ a series of muffled curses in one might have been another language cut off. There was the sigh of someone used to dealing with complications, before Sofia continued, _ “And with that, I’ve got to go. Talk to you tomorrow?” _

You nodded to the empty air. “Sure thing. Gonna go double check the certificates and chase that supplier we discussed to see if I can’t get the matching upgraded material for the central connections. And I’ve got the site visit in a week - should be the second to last one, fingers crossed. All the wiring’ll be complete and damn near everything should be done at this rate, including that solartech paint.”

_ “Someday, I’m going to personally see to it you have songs written about you.” _

You choked on a laugh, rolling your eyes.

“And I’m  _ not _ going to hold you to that one. ‘Night, Sofia, fingers crossed your tech doesn’t explode.”

_ “Cross the toes, too.” _

With a click and a soft tone, Sofia had hung up, and you lowered your phone with a lopsided smile. 

Work or not, extensive extra hours or not, something about keeping Sofia up-to-date and tackling the latest issues - and shooting the breeze, when you lucked out towards the end of a call - it made you feel more at ease.

“Almost there,” you sighed. 

… From the protesting growls of your stomach and the way it felt like every bone in your body ached, it couldn’t come soon enough. This project has been the highlight of your work as architect so far, and you doubted you’d find another project so incredible or satisfyingly challenging for a long time to come - but that didn’t mean you weren’t beyond exhausted and tapped out.

Still, scrounging up a bit more of that dwindling reserve of energy and perseverance deep within, you took a deep breath. Might as well take a moment to stretch where there was fresh air before plugging back into your computer…

It was hardly a minute later when you were reaching for your toes with a marked grimace that you heard the door of the balcony next to yours slide open.

Rising back up, you found yourself meeting gazes with Vellum, who was holding five pies between her hands, with a sixth balanced on top of her skull.

An incredulous laugh escaped you, and despite your exhaustion, you found yourself smiling at your neighbor. She immediately lit up upon seeing you.

“Vell! How’re you? And your… many pies?”

Vellum beamed at the question, gesturing with all the confidence that a skeleton woman carrying six fresh and precariously balanced pies should absolutely not have.

“I am excellent, as are these pies! It is my sacred duty to ensure nothing burns, after all-”

She turned her head and coughed, the top pie wobbling ominously but defying fate and staying balanced even still. You were pretty sure you heard her whisper “ _ well, not anymore,” _ under her breath.

Before you could dare inquire further, the door behind her slid further open a sharp clack. An ever so slightly taller skeletal woman filled the frame and drew your gaze. Her brilliant red eyelights were eye-catching in the comparative dark of the balcony, let alone when accented by her slender frame backlit by the warm apartment’s lighting.

It was hard to say whether the stunning look was marred or improved by the fact that she was wearing a frilly apron on top of her usual stylish outfit.

“VELLUM, THEY JUST UPDATED THEIR ARRIVAL TIME, AND I SWEAR TO THE QUEEN IF OUR SISTERS DON’T STOP DALLYING WHEN THEY VISIT THOSE-”

Scarlet’s exasperated frustration cut off as she noticed that Vellum’s posture was turned towards you. Her sockets widened, took you in, and left you wondering whether to feel embarrassed about your sweatpants or not.

“-Er, hey, Scarlet, how’s it going?” you greeted, grinning despite the mild concern. Damn these skeleton girls, always looking so good. “Are you two having a cooking party?”

Scarlet stepped forward slightly, crossing her arms and leaning against the doorway with an exaggerated roll of her eyes.

“HARDLY.” She cleared her throat then, when Vell shot her a pointed look communicating something you had no means of understanding. “... That is to say, yes and no. We are cooking, as per usual, but a few matters pulled our sisters away. We have consolidated efforts so as not to have things go awry.”

“Awry? While cooking? You’re starting to sound like me,” you teased. Sure, you were a passable cook, but you had become starkly aware of just how incredible home cooking  _ could _ be after the various skeleton sisters moved in and had taken to casually-but-aggressively looping you into meals on occasion. “So long as nothing catches on fire, how bad could it be?”

For an odd moment, neither monster woman found fit to meet your gaze.

“Yes, well, this is true,” Vellum hummed, finally turning to set the pies down on the balcony table that decorated the adjacent decking to yours. “But still, company is company- say! Would you like to join us? Judging from your usual habits…” You smiled sheepishly as Vellum narrowed her gaze - after a passing comment from you last week, she’d taken to texting you reminders to eat in the evening, the sweetheart. “... I believe I could safely wager you haven’t eaten yet.”

The look on your face was answer enough. Vellum sighed, looking half disappointed and worried, and half eager - though the eagerness was beginning to win over the worry. Scarlet however looked scandalized, and stepped forward, closing the distance from the door to the edge of the railing to get closer.

“ _ Oye,  _ you haven’t eaten yet-?!”

“I was about to!” you said quickly, lifting your hands with a grin, trying unsuccessfully to wave off the concern. “Had to fill in my client on the project I’m working on for her, it ended up being a long phone call…”

Scarlet’s hands smacked down on the railing.

“ _¡INACEPTABLE!_ _Sin cena_ \- you cannot go without dinner! Your work ethic is admirable but I cannot allow such _insensatez_ in my housing block-”

Scarlet’s heel was suddenly on the railing, and you and Vellum startled simultaneously with the realization that she was about to push upwards and jump over-

“Oh  _ butter biscuits _ , Scarlet - not you too, we have doors for a reason you know-!” Vellum swore in self-censorship succinctly and lunged forward, long arms wrapping around Scarlet’s waist just in time to stop her. Her friend struggled valiantly, looking like a woman on a mission from on high to drag you into good health habits, hell or high water.

“I really am about to eat-!” you lifted up your hands, torn between laughing in shock and wondering if you should get an extra lock for your balcony door, lest one of your new friends decide to remind you to eat dinner in a similarly hands-on fashion in the future. Not that you’d mind visits, but you’re pretty sure your heart was at risk if you had skeleton women suddenly pounding on your balcony door while you were otherwise distracted.

“That’s right you are-” Scarlet was muttering, a glint in her eyelights telling that she was set on Vellum’s interference being temporary indeed.

“ _ Scarlet _ , she won’t come over more if we do a violence every time we want her to join us,” Vellum hissed. It seemed to be intended as a whisper, but subdued tones weren't among her strong suits. 

Your cheeks were feeling a little warm, and you were left a bit speechless for a few seconds as the two long-limbed skeleton women wrestled by the railing. It’s true, you  _ had _ been awfully busy… But you’d also been texting them fairly regularly. Sapphire most of all, but Vellum, Crimson, Scarlet, and Amber weren’t far behind… you also stopped for a couple minutes to chat with the girls whenever you saw any of them on your way home from work, before having to decline anything longer and heading in and… 

… and working more.

You sighed. Perhaps you  _ were _ in a bit of an overall… antisocial trend here. And now that you’d found yourself with strange and interesting neighbors you  _ wanted _ to get to know better, you knew that you actually wanted to break out of it.  _ Soon _ .

The sound drew both Vellum and Scarlet’s eyelights, and you smiled at them, lifting a hand to rub at the back of your neck.

“I can’t argue that I’ve been a bit difficult to get more time out of for… er, a long time,” you admitted. “But I… don’t want that to be the case. I really do like you guys, and stars, I want to hang out more - the project I’m working on, the one I’ve been working on for nearly a year - well, it’s wrapping up soon. I have to keep my nose to the grindstone to get it done on time, but after that…”

You absently kicked a foot against the smooth plane of your balcony. Your cheeks warmed a little further, but you forced yourself to look at them properly.

“... Maybe we can hang out again then? My place, my treat. Or a cooking party, if that’s what you’d prefer-”

“YES-!” The word gushed out of Vellum, who had released Scarlet’s waist in favor of clasping her hands together. Sparkles practically blossomed around her - actually literally, given her magic. It left you blinking in awe. “I MEAN- I mean, yes, I’d love to! We’d love to! I’ve been wanting to ask if you’d like to do another hanging out, but you’re always so busy - well, the Great and Wonderful Vellum understands being Needed and Valued, so-! I wanted to respect that-!!”

Oh, your heart twisted at that. You were going to have to plan something phenomenal for her, dammit.

Scarlet finally relinquished her hold on the railing, reluctantly. Her feet once more both rested on the decking proper, and she glanced away with arms crossed, and a subtle red glow on her cheekbones. “WELL. I SUPPOSE…” she cleared her throat. “I suppose that will… have to be acceptable.” Her gaze turned back to you then, glittering and sharp, the glow on her face gone. “But! You have to go and eat! Now! Or else I  _ will _ ensure your survival the old-fashioned way,  _ estrellas ayuda me- _ ”

You laughed, nodding. “It’s a promise. I’ll go eat, and even make sure it’s properly well-rounded and all to do you proud, alright?”

Both Vellum and Scarlet nodded at that, seeming pleased. You grinned.

“Perfect. I’ll text you guys once I have a concrete date that things are wrapping up, alright? It can be a proper celebration.”

Oh. You didn’t know they could  _ both  _ sparkle.

“By your word,” Scarlet replied, her sharp grin lifting at one corner in a way that made you suddenly have the urge to research if there were any secondary connotations to celebrations in monster culture. 

“I’ll eagerly await the unique message chime on my phone for such word from you-!” Vellum assured you. 

Giving her a thumbs up, you turned to your own balcony door with a wave towards the both of them. The exchange, odd as things ever were with your neighbors, was refreshing and filled you with a sense of purpose.

“Some hard work, elbow grease, a bit of time - it’ll all be done soon! Can’t wait to share the good news once it’s here.”

* * *

 

You stepped off the bus a week and a half later, cardboard box in your arms. The light was all wrong in comparison to your usual return. Too bright, too high. You squinted, but it wasn’t like you were paying active attention to your surroundings.

If you weren’t in such a state of shock, you would’ve been actively avoiding the knowing, pitying look of the bus driver as you passed them. Instead, your stare was all but vacant as your feet hit the pavement. 

The door shut behind you with a muffled squeak before the bus trundled off for it’s long return journey to the city center.

You didn’t move.

The cold breeze picked up, ruffling your hair, some of it catching uncomfortably on your face.

You didn’t move.

The cold didn’t even match up to the numbness you already felt. Was the numbness better than that initial shock in your office not an hour ago, or the subsequent flood of emotions? You had no way to say. It felt like your brain had shorted out, and the rest of you was wrung out and left to hang.

Your jacket was warm enough for the pre-snow winter weather to keep you standing there at the bus stop, facing nothing in particular, thoughts lost and throat tight.

The day had been going so  _ well _ . Maybe that just punctuated this all the more terribly. Early in the afternoon, you had gotten off the phone with the lead of the construction crew for Sofia’s property - all the paint had dried and the finishing touches were done: the windows sealed, the roofing triple checked, the security measures of Sofia’s own design implemented… you had been in the middle of firing off a message to Sofia even as you hung up, letting her know the good news - you would have called her, if not for the head’s up she’d given you that she’d be unavailable all day. 

Nearly a year later, and you were wrapping up the biggest project you’d never even dared conceive. In the middle of taking a flurry of notes - a few last phone calls to make, a final inspection visit to arrange from the city for coding reasons, your own visit to conduct tomorrow to see for yourself before the inspector arrived, though you’d have to arrange for an Uber to pick you up, given your car was still useless… You had barely noticed the knock on your tiny office’s door. You had called for the knocker to come in - but they were already opening the door. 

Your eyes had lifted to see your boss take up room in your doorway, the same man that had been making your life a living nightmare since the day you’d accepted this project from Sofia. The same day, in fact, that Sofia had brushed off his wheedling request for her as a clearly  _ extremely wealthy _ client with  _ connections _ to have him head up the project with you instead as his ‘second-in-command’. But she had wanted  _ you _ to work on it, not  _ ‘some man who thought himself better than his clients with a thinly veiled power complex, _ ’ as she put it. No, she wanted the competent woman with the preferred skills she had called for, thank you, please hand the phone back over so they could get started on her  _ large and pricey request for an employee of your firm, _ thank you again.

To this day, you’d never seen a man turn so  _ purple _ . 

From the glint in his eye when he had stared you down at your desk earlier, you had found yourself wishing he was silently turning purple again while you walked off to talk to a smooth-voiced woman who knew what she was about. Instead, he looked perfectly calm and ruddy as he far more commonly was... and unbearably, horrifically  _ smug _ .

“We’re downsizing, you understand,” he’d said, tossing the papers in his hand onto your desk. 

You had blinked. No, in fact,  _ sir _ , you hadn’t understood. 

But of course that wasn’t accurate. You had. It was obvious what the  _ real _ reasons were.

“You aren’t the only one,” he’d said. “Others in your… situation, too. An accountant, also. Times are tight, you see, we need people on the same page…”

Not that times would remain ‘tough’, if they even were. With your project wrapping up, the percentage cut they’d get would have them sitting pretty for a long time to come. An observation you had voiced.

He had ignored you.

“You see, it’s about a  _ team _ effort at our firm, lifting one another up - I’m afraid some people have corroborated your… unwillingness to see to not only your own improvement, but theirs as well.”

It was then, seeing that glint in his eye, a glint you’d caught directed your way for months, a glint you’d determinedly ignored in favor of keeping your head down but your work of quality - it was at  _ that glint _ that you’d lost it.

Standing outside in the cold, the wind picking up a little more fiercely now, you were just numb enough to recall the minutes that had followed as a blur. Your boss hadn’t backed down - in fact, as his words sunk in, as the convenient  _ two weeks to wrap up your current projects _ hit you like a slap in the face, as the pitying glances from coworkers outside your closet-sized office peered in around your boss’ frame -

You weren’t sure if you’d spoken your accusations calmly, or yelled them. You were pretty sure you’d only  _ imagined _ throwing a glass paperweight of a company award for ‘Commendable Work on Community Project’ at him, but part of you a little viciously wished you had actually done it.

But in the end - the one thing that mattered… facing forced resignation, you’d finally flipped him off.

You had  _ quit _ .

That had taken him by surprise. Quitting rather than waiting out those last two allotted weeks - that meant no sizeable severance package. No leeway on insurance benefits lingering during initial unemployment. No ability to call for future references, definitely. 

It  _ also _ meant that he’d get a  _ fraction  _ of the percentage he would have received as a head partner of the firm for your project with Sofia, as you’d be taking the finalization of the project with you. Your unspeakably large, well-connected, impeccably fulfilled,  _ millions of dollars  _ project for Sofia.

Before he could threaten you with something that would sink in enough to make you reconsider, you’d snagged up a cardboard box full of old files to be shredded, dumped it on his feet, swept up what few personal belongings you had and shoved your laptop in your bag-

And left.

You didn’t even remember the bus ride home.

Or why your eyes felt raw.

As the cold wind swept around you, and the wetness brimming at the corner of your eyes chilled enough to bring you back into your body, you startled.

Oh. Right.  _ That’s _ why.

You shook yourself, trembling hands gripping your box of belongings. Mostly personal office supplies, but also a particularly hardy plant you’d gotten one day to lighten up your windowless closet office, a thick binder of everything left on Sofia’s project, and a few other items that had made your desk feel like  _ yours _ . Your laptop bag hung heavy from one shoulder.

Exhaustion hit you like a train, and suddenly you wanted nothing more than to curl up in your bed, either cursing an unfair world and shitty, power-grabbing boss men, or just… sob into something that tasted good and was horrible for you. Maybe with music on. Or an old movie that would give you more of an excuse to cry.

You didn’t know. You’d figure it out when you got home. 

For now, you forced your feet to move mechanically forward. One step, then another. Your little row of townhouses was largely secluded from other scattered but vaguely nearby housing complexes - the bus dropped you near the closest, but yours was a good ten minute walk further. Disjointed thoughts, upset, indignant, horrified, anxious, and numb alike - they all ran through your mind during that time, nothing strung together well enough for the moment as you gradually made your way down the sidewalk and finally stepped foot in your parking lot. Past your useless hunk of junk of a car, past a few unusually empty spaces, up the stairs to the walkway of the townhouses…

Your head lifted when suddenly the sound of your name pierced through the fog of thoughts clouding your mind. It sounded like it wasn’t the first time it had been said

“- _ Espera _ , why are you home so early- are you… are you  _ crying? _ ”

You looked up from your vacant stare towards the walkway at your feet to see Scarlet approaching where you’d paused. Pepper was at Serif and Vellum’s door, closing it in the face of a rather distressed looking Hades and an indignant Addy. 

“O-oh, it’s- uh, just…” you couldn’t come up with a lie fast enough. Scarlet’s face told you it wouldn’t have passed, regardless - though you tried to reshoulder your slipping bag and keep moving, she came to a stop in front of you that brooked no passage. Avoidantly, you grimaced, your reddened eyes cast downwards. You couldn’t deal with this right now, couldn’t deal with pity or dripping sympathy or-

“... Who hurt you?”

You blinked.

When your gaze turned upwards, revealing your slightly dishevelled appearance and tear-reddened eyes, you met not pity, and not even something you’d pen down as sympathy  _ or _ empathy. Scarlet’s expression was one you’d worn in younger days yourself - when you found out one of the class bullies had been targeting your friend, or when you’d been at a bar one night, too early for the group you were meeting up with, and became witness to the harassment of a younger girl -

You’d refused to stay only witness, in those times. You’d  _ done  _ something about it.

“ _ Who hurt you? _ ” Scarlet repeated. Her voice was surprisingly level despite the dark look on her face. Almost scarily so. Pepper joined her side then, more than a head shorter, but with just as commanding a presence and bearing an expression that was unreadable. She seemed to take in the sight of you - the only shift in her expression being a slight narrowing of the eyes.

“I- it’s…” You tried to get the words out. There was no way to know where to start.  _ You _ were still reeling. Your hands gripped your box tighter, chest and throat growing uncomfortably tight as the heat pricked at your eyes unfairly.

Suddenly, a touch so gentle you could hardly notice it brushed against your chin. You blinked away the clouding tears to find Pepper leaning in - one gloved hand underneath your chin. She was holding your gaze.

Finally, you managed to clear your throat.

“... They fired me,” you managed to mutter. “Well. Forced me to resign. Said it was downsizing - but… it wasn’t. Not really. My boss has been after me and today he came with the ultimatum and… I - I quit. So he couldn’t get the satisfaction, or the payout.” Your expression tightened, tears threatening again, unable to withstand the floodgates as your numbness cracked. “I-  _ fuck _ , it was so stupid - they won’t give me anything now, but I couldn’t stand going in more, not with something so stupid - so  _ planned _ , I couldn’t give them the satisfaction and full payout of my biggest project - I just - he’s been gunning for me for nearly a year, and they’ve been so  _ shit _ about monster-oriented projects anyways and anyone who spoke up in favor of them, or even wanted to work in monster-friendly districts, and I’d been thinking of options after this project to go somewhere else but if I got put on the blacklist the town’s just small enough for it to haunt me, but here I am-”

You choked back a sob, your eyes clenching shut. 

Unable to see as a shudder wracked you, you didn’t catch the look exchanged between Scarlet and Pepper. 

Pepper’s hand shifted to your shoulder, squeezing it lightly, and when you opened your eyes, Scarlet’s hand was on your other arm. Together they guided you to your front door, and you managed to get the keys out, fumbling with the lock before Scarlet’s hand shifted, and silently, she steadied your hand to unlock the door. When it opened, you wiped furiously at your tears before they could fall.

“I-I’m sorry, shit, I didn’t mean to... “

Pepper lifted a hand before you could stumble your way through more of an apology. 

“Do not be, cute neighbor of ours. It is clear you have been… holding strong for a long time. Untimely questions damn us all to slip, at some point.”

Her steady gaze gave you the strength to take a slightly more level breath. Tentatively, you nodded, though you grimaced slightly.

“Are you in need of food, or any such similar requirements?” It was Scarlet’s voice that drew your attention next. Despite her often excessive displays, she looked serious, and perhaps a little like she’d quite willingly take over the nearest grocery store if need be.

You shook your head.

“I’ve… I’ve got leftovers. ‘n frozen things. That’s about all I feel up to,” you muttered honestly with a half a shrug. Still, you attempted a small smile in gratitude for the clear offer of intent behind her words. The smile came out a bit weak, but it was probably better than you’d thought you could manage. “I’m just… I’m gonna go… put something on. Drink, probably, too,” you said honestly with a shrug, laughing hoarsely just the once.

Pepper nodded at this.

“Drowning one’s sorrows for the initial day can be cathartic. Do not drive, however. And throw your phone into a corner if you get the temptation to make inadvisable phone calls,” she added, just a bit wry. You huffed half a laugh at that.

“Best advice I’ve heard in a long time,” you murmured. “Think I’ll do just that. Thanks… both of you. Sorry to- keep you, I’m guessing?”

Scarlet shrugged, crossing her arms. “We all have a friend we are meeting a few towns over. She is a musical artist and is giving a performance tonight - it’s the closest she’s come in over a month, so it was agreed we’d go as a group. The rest either went early for a get together or are on their way now; Pepper and I merely had a few late business matters to take care of. We were about to take off and join them.”

“We shall all be gone for the night,” Pepper nodded. “Sapphire called to request I bring Hades to Addy so neither would be lonely… and so that they would distract each other.”

Thinking of the one picture Sapphire had sent you all those weeks ago, you chuckled weakly. So long as Serif and Vellum didn’t mind a little furniture flipping, those two would certainly keep each other… preoccupied.

“Right, well… have fun,” you wished them earnestly. “I’ll be here. I’d say call if you need me, but, uh…”

Scarlet raised a brow, and huffed. After a moment, her arms uncrossed, and her gloved hand met the top of your hair - for a split second, she stroked it in a manner that was… oddly reassuring, you thought, rather than demeaning as you would have otherwise guessed such an action would feel.

“Take care of yourself,” she muttered. “That is all that is required of you.”

Removing her hand, she nodded to you, then turned to walk down the stairs and towards the little parking lot. Pepper lingered for a moment longer, considering you with that unreadable expression. Finally, an arm crossed her chest, and ever so slightly, she bowed at the waist before turning and striding after her companion.

You gave a small wave before turning, moving to drop your box of things in the entryway, and unceremoniously plopping your laptop bag on top of it. Just before you snapped the door shut, you heard your name called again.

Opening it halfway, you saw Scarlet standing at the open door of one of the more slick sports cars that often found its home in the lot. Pepper was already inside, but you felt her gaze on you too.

“-I shall come see you tomorrow evening,” Scarlet said, hesitating only slightly. Her voice carried across the distance so well she might as well have been standing a pace away.

The offer was genuine.

After a moment, you nodded. 

“... See you then,” you replied, nowhere near as loud. Nevertheless, Scarlet nodded in return, then slid gracefully into the car. It purred to life as she snapped the door shut, and within seconds she’d smoothly pulled out of the spot, navigated the lot, and peeled out onto the road so smoothly and quickly you wondered just how legal her practice upon reaching the Surface had been.

Slowly, absently, your hand dropped, and you closed the door. Your eyes went to the box with your laptop bag by your feet at the door. After a long minute, you kicked off your shoes haphazardly, dropped your coat and scarf on top of the pile, and moved down the small ground floor hallway past your staircase.

First job: get into the comfiest pajamas you owned. Second: leftovers. Or frozen pizza. Whatever. Third: Drinks.

The future was for  _ tomorrow  _ you to worry about. 

_ Tonight  _ you was going to do her damned best to process this bullshit in the same way sentient beings had for millenia: by getting intoxicated enough to not give a rat’s ass.

\-------------

Several Netflix movies later, enough half-assed drinks to feel comfortably fuzzy in the head and over-full on whatever it was you’d eaten, and with your phone long since phone pitched to the corner of your living room after staring too long at your boss’ contact info, you’d ambled downstairs and fallen onto your bed in a blissful stupor. 

You were snoring within minutes, eyes achey, chest hurting, but mercifully unconscious for hours.

Funny, though, how warm you could get with some alcohol in your system. Too warm, sometimes, especially with all these blankets…

You groaned at some ungodly hour of the night, trying to kick off your blankets and failing, dragging your mind to semi-consciousness. It had been enough time and sleep that any buzz had worn off... You were parched, and over-hot. With the buzz gone, the latter felt a bit strange.

Maybe you’d bumped the thermostat on your way to bed…?

Half-determined to take off some layers rather than drag yourself out of your room to check the temperature, you coughed, blinking blearily and pushing yourself to sit up-

As you blinked, you realized the light was wrong. Too much of it at a weird angle was filtering through your curtain. And there was some kind of… weird sound in the distance? It was insistent, actually, insistent and  _ annoying _ , and now that you were waking up you weren’t sure how you hadn’t noticed it earlier. 

You coughed, rubbing at your eyes as your feet swung over the edge of your mattress and you stumbled to your feet. 

After a few stumbling steps, half-heartedly reaching out for where you knew your lightswitch was, you instead tripped over your discarded clothes from the evening and hit the wall.

Immediately, you yelped, shoving away from it forcefully with a “ _ Shit-! _ ”

It was hot.  _ Burning _ hot.

Without thinking, you yanked open your bedroom door, the sting of heat on the knob registering too late to process in time. A blast of heat awaited you, forcing you back, your arm lifting as you started coughing.

Your hallway was on fire. 

The flames completely consumed the wall you shared with Serif and Vellum, had caught onto the runner rug and spread to the opposite wall and up your staircase. Taking another step back, reeling, before your very eyes you then saw the baseboard in your room suddenly catch fire too, the entire thing lighting up and beginning to consume the wall from the bottom up. 

Adrenaline slammed through your veins without any further pause, and you shoved away from the fire, turning to the window behind your curtains that faced the back of the property of your little townhouse-

You were blinded as you yanked the curtains back only to find the fires completely consuming the outside, blocking any exit through there.

You didn’t have time to think. 

In a flutter of memory of old fire drills, you tore off the synthetic material of the shirt you were wearing, grabbed the nearby old cotton band shirt laying in your laundry basket while thanking your lucky star your pajama pants weren’t synthetic too, and tore a wool blanket from the top of your closet as you shoved on a pair of fleece-lined boots stored in there as well. Without waiting any longer you pulled the wool blanket around you and over your head, covering your mouth.

You didn’t even give yourself a moment to gather your courage as you faced the fires of the hallway. You simply surged forward, squinting against the searing heat as you charged through the flames licking at your heels. 

The front door was starting to catch, but wasn’t covered in flames yet - wrapping the blanket around your hand you undid the latches, feeling the pain of too-hot metal even through the thick wool. The moment they were undone you opened the door, flinching as the fires roared higher at the influx of air - with only a second of thought you kicked the box of things you’d left in the entryway out the door with you, laptop bag and coat and all, and stumbled out of your little townhouse. The box and your laptop bag and the rest fell down the stairs of the stoop and scattered across the grass and walkway below as you managed to make it the same distance before tripping and falling.

Hacking at the smoke that had seared it’s way into your lungs, you fumbled in your pockets-

And if not for the remaining coughing as your airways cleared, you would have gone utterly still in horror as you remembered the current location of your phone: ditched in your living room corner for the lurking temptation it had posed, upstairs and long forgotten by the time you’d stumbled off to sleep.

You turned around, the freezing cold wind doing little to cool the fierce heat that pressed against your body at what lay before you.

Four of the five joined townhouses were up in flames, with the last in the row furthest from yours catching already. 

The wind stirred the flames higher, the inferno’s roar drowning out the fire alarms blaring within. Ever so faintly, barely audible underneath the sound of cracking support beams and bursting electronics, it carried one more sound to you-

-the muffled bark of dogs, from far behind the fire-damaged doorway of Serif and Vellum’s townhouse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... out of the frying pan, and into the fryer at last. （╹◡╹）✧
> 
>  
> 
> \---  
> Leave me a comment with any thoughts you mayyy have, they absolutely keep my muse inspired and the chapters coming all the faster-!♡♡♡


	8. In Which It’s Out of the Frying Bed, and Into the Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Pushing up to your knees, you tried to blink through the lancing pain in your wrist to get your bearings._
> 
> _… This was no unfinished basement._

The sound of the fire consuming the row of townhouses was all the night held - that, and the lingering barks from within the townhouse next to yours. 

There wasn’t a siren to be heard.

You lived at the edge of town - more importantly, you lived at the edge of town that had been populated more and more by monsters. There was a marked tendency for emergency response to be  _ delayed  _ \- and without your phone, you couldn’t even make a call. The nearest apartments you  _ might  _ be able to find someone at was nearly a ten minute walk, and with smoke still lingering in your system and making your breathing at least half-coughing, you knew you couldn’t make that shorter by running.

There just wasn’t  _ time _ .

Stumbling to your feet, you looked around, desperation mounting. To your right, the scattered objects from your now-spilled box of belongings from your now-former job - nothing of use, hell, most of it decidedly  _ flammable _ . Your laptop bag - useless for this - your coat, too synthetic - your scarf-

Inspiration struck, and you scrambled to yank it off the ground. Immediately you looped it around your mouth - it too was made of wool, and you thanked your lucky stars for picking up the thing last winter. 

Armed with a scarf as a mask and the blanket once more wrapped around you, you ran forward.

The door was already partially cracked. Flames were licking at the frame, and the door itself had a split. Summoning every ounce of poor judgement and action flick inspired wannabe know-how you had, you lifted your foot at the last second of your run and kicked towards the left of the lock mechanism - 

With a resounding crack the door splintered further and burst inward, destroying part of the doorjamb. 

Fire had consumed most of the house already. The stairway up to the living area and kitchen had half caved in - debris littered it, and the upper level was nearly impossible to look at for how bright the fires were. You looked around desperately, drawing the blanket more completely around you, squinting against the light of the fire.

Down the hall, the doors to what could only be Serif and Vellum’s rooms had splintered under the force of the fire consuming them, and what little you could make out beyond them seemed no better - your heart began to sink, fear lashing through the adrenaline that perhaps even so quickly it was already too late - 

But suddenly you heard another bark, harsh and clearly struggling against the quality of the air. Not from upstairs, not from the rooms down the small hallway in front of you, but from below, echoing through a hollow you knew existed under the stairs-

_ The basement _ .

Swearing internally you rushed forward, moving to the side of the stairs. The townhouses were all identical - underneath your own staircase was a skinnier door, one that housed a staircase that lead to a small unfinished basement well-suited for basic storage and housing the water heater. The same door existed here, and it was cracked open. You shoved it open with a shoulder, and were immediately rewarded with a face full of billowing smoke. Your hand pressed over your scarf in front of your mouth, eyes watering as you coughed through your makeshift mask.

The sound of a distressed whine below steeled your livewire nerves, and you descended the staircase. 

“Addy? Hades-”  you called out, muffled and rasping through your scarf as you stepped partially blindly downwards. Flames licked at the edges of the steps, and along the railing. “Come on, here girls-”

Nearly to the bottom of the staircase, you started choking on the smoke and broke into a coughing fit, going temporarily blind with the force of it as your eyes watered against the smoke and light of the fires. Your feet stumbled on fire-damaged steps and you tripped, falling down the last few steps. Agonizing pain shot up your arm as you hit the floor with a dull, sickening crack, your left hand catching in the blanket you clutched protectively around you and bearing the brunt of your fall at a terrible angle. You swore immediately, but it collapsed into a fit of coughing you tried to control desperately to recover your breathing while you could.

Pushing up to your knees, you tried to blink through the lancing pain in your wrist to get your bearings.

… This was no unfinished basement.

Flames consumed much of the room now, but they cast a blinding glare off of destroyed screens lining the furthest wall; immense ones, larger than the most expensive TVs you’d seen at big box stores. Some sort of computing system fed into it, looking to your eye like a sci-fi server bank lining the left of the adjacent walls. Half of it was utterly decimated, a fire raging from it’s core, and a blast radius larger than half the room leaving the installed stabilizing pillars broken and useless. Work tables littered the room, overturned, machinery scattered and unknowable thanks to the damage sustained from what could have only been a horrible explosion - several beams had crashed from the low ceiling, blocking off access to the majority of the room, and the beams were on fire, their debris and flames worsening and clearly consuming the townhouse from the basement upwards-

And off to your right, blocked off by fallen machinery and flaming beams, stood Hades, crowded against an unfinished brick wall. She looked even bigger than usual, her fur fluffed up, singed at her tail and looking like she’d taken more than one hit from flaming debris. In her jaws she held the scruff of Addy. The smaller dog was mostly limp, ears twitching weakly, one paw badly burned and overall looking worse for the wear. 

“ _ Hades! Addy! _ ” 

You scrambled forward, cradling your now useless left hand close to your chest while jumping over a stray box and scrap metal as you ran towards the nearest beam cutting you off from them. Immediately Hades perked up, looking your direction - she whined, the sound muffled around the scruff of Addy, but her tail wagged. She tried to approach but the snap of a crackling piece of fallen beam had her startling backwards. You heard a strange whirring glitched tone from somewhere nearby, but ignored it in favor of your racing thoughts.

There was no way she could jump over the beam and piled debris, as high as the fires were, and hell she was just a dog - a beautiful, brave dog that had rescued her smaller dog friend, that somehow survived what seemed to be an  _ explosion _ \- but still a dog-

In a flash of inspiration, you dragged the thick wool blanket off your shoulders with your right hand, flinching at the intensity of the fires raging around you. It wouldn’t last long, but with no other options, you flared it out wide and settled it over the lowest portion of the fallen mess, creating a small swath of path.

Without waiting you jumped through the opening you found and rushed forward towards the dogs. 

“C’mere-” you gasped, eyes tearing up even worse than they already were at the smoke. Hades rushed to your side and only stopped just shy of knocking you over. Her tail was wagging fiercely, and for a moment your eyes watered from far more than just the inferno raging around you. 

Something shifted on her back, then, drawing your attention - some larger chunk of machinery from the explosion snagged on her maybe-? You knelt down quickly, gingerly taking Addy and cradling her in your arm as you quickly checked to see if it was something you should pull off of Hades. 

It twitched.

It wasn’t scrap - not exactly. It appeared to be a doll… or rather, a small robot, hardly longer than your forearm. One arm was missing, wires sticking out and glowing oddly, while the rest of the robot - clothed, oddly enough - was badly singed. It twitched again, and you realized it had a face - an oddly  _ skeletal _ face.

“Is this important to the girls, Hades…?” You managed to say, glancing to the dog. From what you knew of this rather helpful dog, it didn’t seem as implausible as it should that she’d try to save an important creation of-

“I s-SHI-sure  _ HoPe _ sO.” 

You screamed.

Immediately stumbling backwards, you landed on your ass, staring wide-eyed at the now-turned face of the little robot. It’s voice was glitched, wrong, but-

_ It had spoken! _

“Holy shit-” you coughed, steadying Addy who whimpered at your sudden movement. You managed to shift to your knees.

The little robot shuddered mechanically, and Hades whined - but for a single moment, in the midst of the inferno, your eyes went wide at the unmistakeable crooked  _ grin _ of the damaged robot that hooked it’s remaining small arm a little more firmly around Hades collar.

… The damaged robot who, however glitched, had a voice and cadence you’d spent too long listening to for over a year now to not recognize.

“ _ Sofia? _ ”

The little robot’s eye sockets- no, her screens, where sockets  _ would _ be - shifted, one flickering into an emoticon-like blink. Your jaw had dropped behind your scarf.

A travel-sized robot had just winked at you.

“The o-oNE and on-on-only,” she managed to say, speaking around a worsening glitch in her system. “You’re hEAv-HEAVEN sent, Archie, but - a-anSWERS l-l-l-later?”

Your breathing turned into coughing once more, and through worsening tears, you nodded, searing heat unable to be ignored even by the confusion any further. Carefully, supporting Addy on your knees for a moment, you reached over and gingerly picked up the robot - picked up  _ Sofia _ . She shuddered slightly and you felt light static spark against your skin as you tucked her onto Addy’s back. You once more scooped up the small dog, allowing you to securely cradle Addy while keeping Sofia close and tucked against your arm with less incident than she’d face on Hades’ back.

Addy’s head tilted, and you felt her too-dry tongue weakly lick at your hand. 

“Let’s go-” you coughed as renewed determination surged with your instincts to escape, turning back to the space left by your blanket over the beam. The blanket had caught around the edges, but just enough room was left - you managed to get Hades to jump through first before following after her, stumbling through the dangerously thick smoke and finding the nearly obscured smokey stairs with a hoarse guiding bark from the large dog in front of you. 

With Hades at your side you climbed the steps, stumbling as pieces began to give way under the damage. Hades caught you, and with your injured left arm slung over the dog’s back, she half-hauled you up the rest of the flight as you choked on the heat. 

Bursting back out into the hallway, you turned towards the still-open door, squinting against the fire’s flames and trying to get your lungs and eyesight to cooperate a little longer-

Overhead, the house's core structure groaned.The sound shook the whole unit, ominous and _final_ -  


The next second there was a piercing  _ crack  _ so deep and horrifying it resounded in your bones, and your gaze shot upward to the source just in time to see a beam burst through the crumbling ceiling, split under the stress and destruction and falling directly towards you and your rescue attempt. 

There was no time to move, to even think- your body curled over Hades and Addy and Sofia as your eyes clenched shut-

“ **_shit-_ ** “

With a heart-stopping crash and the snap of a wooden beam thicker than your torso, a rush of displaced air separated you from the end you’d sworn you’d just been about to experience. Knee-jerk reaction had your eyes flying open when the sound of impact wasn’t  _ on you _ but rather  _ over you- _

Haloed in fire with eyelights burning as bright as the flaming beam she bore, Cinnamon’s form arched over you. Her teeth gritted as her face burned with a look of concentration, and there was an intense hum of pure energy coming off of her -  _ magic _ , you realized, though the fire overrode any visible tint of it-

She caught your wide-eyed stare, and with her golden fang flashing in the flames she grit out, “run for it- path’s clear but not for long-“

You choked on a gasp, adrenaline slamming through your faltering system. Sure enough, there was a gap in the flames in the hall, but for a split second even still you wavered.

“What about you-“

“i’m right behind you, _ now get them out of here! _ ” 

The lazy drawl was gone from her voice, and for the first time in your brief interactions with her you heard the pull of the same lilting accent that colored Pepper’s speech. With a sudden steeling of your nerves, you took only the time to nod before pushing forwards, broken arm cradled uselessly alongside your good arm supporting Addy and Sofia-

“Hades,  _ come! _ ” 

With a whine and a raspy bark, Hades gave in to your will, and followed you as you stumbled quickly down the short hall and burst from the broken doorframe out into the cold night air. Nearly tripping down the stairs, Hades managed to push in front of you just in time to steady you, helping you make it down to the pathway before you collapsed in a coughing fit on your knees.

A sudden ground-shaking crash drew your gaze back to the townhouse you’d just exited, fear snapping sickeningly through your gut for a terrible moment-

But there in the doorway stood Cinnamon, striding out of the townhouse as more debris rained from the ceiling within. Her hand swiped over the fur-lined hood of her leather vest, putting out where it had caught on fire. Stride long, she caught up to where you were in moments, crouching down as your coughing blurred your vision with responsive tears until you were forced to close your eyes.

“Sh-shE née-needs mediCaL aTTENTion-n,” came that familiar albeit glitched voice, pressed to your chest. Unable to fully regain your breath, but realizing you were still clutching both Addy and Sofia’s small robot form to your chest, you tried to lax your grip. 

The unexpected brush of bone against your cheeks had your gaze startled up once more - Cinnamon was in front of you, silhouetted by the burning row of townhouses you’d called home. Her hands slid the scarf covering your mouth down, helping you get fresh air into your lungs. Her expression was dark, but her touch remained strikingly gentle as her hands moved to your good arm, coaxing you to loosen your grip enough for her to check Addy.

Addy whimpered weakly, but as Cinnamon’s fingers made all too practiced work of inspecting the little dog, she made a small sound decently close to a  _ bork  _ that made Cinnamon’s grim-set mouth twitch slightly. FInally she nodded, leaving Addy in your grip as you tried to steady your coughing fit before she plucked Sofia carefully from her secure place in the curve of your arm and chest. In the same smooth motion she pulled something out of her pocket-

The next moment your coughing cut off as she pressed something to your parted lips. With a surprised muffled sound, unable to resist her sure movements, the sudden taste of maple hit your tastebuds, soothing and sweet and subtly tingling. Your coughing subsided as a soothing rush slid through your veins.

“you  _ all _ need medical attention-” she muttered under her breath, sunset-orange eyelights lingering on your for a few moments as the relief shone through in your weary expression. Her gaze dropped then to the small robot supported in her hand, phalanges shifting at a few components for a few seconds. “damn it all, Alpha, we just built that new arm-”

“T-TaaaaAkE it uP wiTH th-e-e-e crash crEw-” the tiny robot responded, the apparent hidden meaning causing Cinnamon’s sockets to narrow before Sofia’s remaining arm weakly smacked at Cinnamon’s hand as she more closely inspected the exposed, lightly sparking wires. “N-N-NeEd a  _ pRop-er _ ReP KiT, CiNN-”

Cinnamon rolled her eyelights, glancing over to Hades and continuing her inspection with a grimace. Only a few seconds passed before she shook her head.

“... can’t stabilize your core without the proper tools, ‘s’true. and these three need first aid,” her eyelights skated over Hades, who was standing at alert despite looking badly singed, Addy, then back to meet your gaze. She kept it for a pause, and you tried to swallow around the soothing lollipop.

“There’s a- a vet, twenty minutes into town, that’s open late,” you tried to rasp. “We’ve gotta- gotta call the others, and the fire department- lost my phone-” attempting to steady yourself, your voice cut off then with a hiss as you accidentally bumped your wrist. The resulting wave of pain had you swaying so badly it took you a moment to realize there was a new touch on your shoulder.

Cinnamon had steadied you, and before you could manage to right yourself enough to thank her, you were suddenly airborne.

You were cradled bridal-style in her arms and she was standing, with Addy left largely limp in your lap. Without understanding what had just happened or why the hell your heart decided now was the perfect moment to skip a beat, you found your robot rescue added to your lap, and Cinnamon was striding down the stairs to the little parking lot with a sharp whistle that had Hades trotting quickly at her heels.

“What the-” you gasped around the lollipop, curling instinctively into her grip to avoid going off balance. Her fingers shifted, the pressure adjusting slightly.

“human emergency services won’t arrive for another twenty minutes. an ambulance’ll cost you, ‘n i don’t care about their questions. plus alpha needs maintenance asap.”

She strode up to the passenger side of what looked like a classic muscle car, and in a move so fast you didn’t even catch her movement she had you supported in one arm, while the other popped open the door. Smoothly she bent down and slid you into the bench seating - before nudging your legs with her her hand. Obligingly you shifted them to the side, and the next moment Hades filled nearly the entirety of the floor space and then some, her upper body bumping up to the seat and forcing you towards the middle. 

Cinnamon hesitated. After a beat, she leaned into the car again -

You found her face close to yours as her hands grasped something. It was out of your line of vision as for a brief moment, you could see only the skeleton woman’s profile, her shoulder, the line of her furry, now-singed hood. In surprise, you realized that for the first time since you’d been awakened, the scent of smoke and sear weren’t dominating your nose - no, there was… something more spiced, warm in a gentler way… a little like vanilla, and maple, and- well,  _ cinnamon _ -

The next moment there was a click at your side, and Cinnamon was ducking back out of the car, closing the door briskly. 

She’d buckled you in.

You nearly jumped when the driver’s door immediately opened - you must have zoned out for a few seconds, you realized, and tried to shake yourself. The pain in your arm wasn’t subsiding, providing a grounding point of focus, and a new whimper from Addy as she curled into your lap further had your heart feel like it might break. 

“Where are we going-?” You managed to ask as Cinnamon turned the car on, the engine purring to life in a way that, even to the most inexpert ear, sounded extremely well cared-for. Your hand settled in Addy’s fur on a safe spot on her back, helping quiet her distress as Alpha- Sofia? - leaned into the curl Addy had trapped her in.

“... to a friend,” Cinnamon replied. She glanced your way, hand settling on the stickshift. “she’s up the mountainside a bit. with me driving, we’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

Your brow furrowed, glancing out the windshield-

The entire row of townhouses were up in flames. The windows had all finally shattered, the doors were consumed, and it was obvious that by the time any fire engine got there, there would be nothing left to save.

“... Isn’t the closest part of it nearly twenty-five minutes away? The vet-”

Cinnamon laughed, just the once. It was honestly amused, if a bit dry, and the curve of her sharp grin revealed itself for the first time. 

“not if you know how to make a car  _ sing _ .”

With a flip of her wrist she threw the car into reverse, peeling out of the spot with a cool turning of the wheel and speed you hadn’t known a car like this could manage. Just as quickly she threw it into first gear, and in two blinks she’d pulled out of the lot and onto the road, taking off and sliding upwards through the gears as she accelerated with the ease and skill of a professional.

Your eyes were wide and you swore vehemently as the car sped down the road, arm scooping Addy to your torso to keep her from getting thrown on the curves as Cinnamon smirked, gaze narrowing on the road ahead. 

A muffled sound snapped your gaze off the blurring landscape, and you realized you’d squished your robotic rescue to your torso as well. Still tense as Cinnamon accelerated well past any legal limits with a focus you didn’t dare risk interrupting, you managed to maneuver around your own broken wrist to pull her free, letting her settle in a way she could look up at you.

“Sorry,” you muttered sheepishly, still sporting the lollipop that you realized must be of magic make. Hopefully one of the legal ones, but given how it had saved you from the brink of significant smoke damage in your throat, you knew where your priorities laid. “Bit- bit  _ breathtaking _ , this kind of speed-”

Cinnamon snorted quietly in the driver’s seat, and a quick glance proved she was subtly smirking despite the furrowed set of her brow. 

“Sh-SHOw oFF,” your smallest charge replied, rolling simulated eyelights as she sagged against Addy in a way that looked convincingly tired. The curiosities behind how programming  _ tired _ into a robot were certainly intriguing, as was literally any topic that could keep your mind off the speed at which Cinnamon just drove past an intersection, but the familiarity of the voice behind the glitching was too important to put aside any longer.

“... Okay, I… don’t know how to ask if you’re usually a robot, Sofia, or if this is just a… secret experiment? But. Well… Are you?” You said. Your voice was still rough at the edges, a little painful, but at least you weren’t coughing anymore. “I mean, of course I know you’re in the tech business, but this is…”

The robot in your lap considered you for a long moment, her good hand disappearing in Addy’s soft fur.

“... al,” Cinnamon muttered, tone laden with hidden meaning. Her eyelights flickered off the road for only a moment. The next you felt the car slowing slightly, causing you to glance out the windows - Cinnamon had been driving so fast you were startled to see how far you’d come. 

Her hand flashed out, shifting gears before crossing in front of you and startling you - before suddenly she drifted around the turn. The force of it would have thrown you painfully if not for her arm barring you back.

Pulling straight once more, she shifted gears back up and took off in a direction you were familiar with - towards the winding, sparser and more monster-heavy section of town that marked the mountainside. 

“... shE’s fI-ine,” was the response, as measured as it could be for her apparent systems issues. You glanced back down at her, finding her gaze unmoved from your face, apparently unphased by the speed racer you’d found yourself the unwitting passenger to. “MakE th-eee caLL.”

Cinnamon was quiet for several seconds. Streetlights flashed by outside your windows, irregular and amber-warm, unlike the white lights of newer neighborhoods. Buildings were irregularly shaped here, some stacked side by side, others with the breathing room of trees and other trappings of nature that flashed by. Despite the fact that the area’s infrastructure wasn’t exactly well-tended thanks to the city’s zoning ‘priorities’, you liked this section of town best - monsters had a penchant for beautifying any area they settled into, and making every place a special kind of unique. It had inspired you for a long time now in your work as an architect, and the flash of something normal in this rollercoaster of a night was an unexpected balm.

Cinnamon finally exhaled, and nodded. “yeah.” 

She removed one hand from the wheel, sliding it into her vest and just as quickly flipping out what appeared to be some sort of cutting edge phone of a make you didn’t recognize. Her finger barely slipped over it in a quick pattern you tried not to trace, and with a few more taps of bone to screen she held the phone to the side of her face.

“... hey, b.” Cinnamon’s grip shifted on the wheel as the phone was immediately answered. “they called? yeah. nope. mm, like charby’s gone wrong.” 

She went quiet for a few moments, and you tried and failed to look like you weren’t listening. Cinnamon took another turn, this one mercifully less sharp as you made your way deeper into the more forested and hilly part of town, fewer and fewer gridded corners and more wandering streets that obeyed nature’s inclinations. 

“- yeah, got ‘em. ad’s doin’ a bit  _ too _ hot. hades seems okay, but if we can- perfect. gonna need the spare toolkit for al too- what? whaddya mean-” 

You heard the robot on your lap huff, a knowingly amused curve to the sound. You raised an eyebrow at her, managing incredible patience considering your earlier question still hadn’t asked, but she just shook her head.

Cinnamon groaned, the sound surprisingly relaxed - she was pretty open with whoever she was talking to, you realized. She never struck you as the type that was exactly  _ hard  _ to approach, she was far too easygoing for that... but there was a mysterious air and, well, attractive roguishness to the look of her that seemed hard to pierce through. 

“yeah, yeah, alright. listen, is your sister- yeah? great, i’ll take the back way. and hey, i’ve got a… favor to ask.”

The pause had you glance up, and you found for a startling moment that Cinnamon’s gaze was on you, even as she followed the curving road without incident, passing fewer cars as the forest grew less interrupted.

“... no, seems steady. that’s the one. hood up, if you need. but considering… yeah, like i mentioned…” Her gaze shifted back, and you felt strange.

… Kind of like your very soul had been understood at it’s basic tenets. 

You resisted the urge to laugh at that thought. All that smoke had done quite the number on you, clearly.

“got it. thanks, b.”

With a click, the call ended, and a clack of the phone signified Cinnamon choosing another call. It rang through and hardly a second passed before a voice, muffled but clearly loud, rung through. Cinnamon exhaled, but didn’t seem upset.

“blessed stone-damned be t’you too, sis-”

A glitched sound had your gaze shoot back down to the small robot on your lap. 

“Ti-iME for pr=proper 1ntrODuctions,” she mused, one slender and remarkably expressive robotic brow bone arching upwards. With a huff of an embarrassed laugh for the fact that you had been clearly caught eavesdropping - it was pretty hard  _ not _ to eavesdrop, in your defense - you nodded. The robot in your lap, leaning and anchored to Addy’s curled up form, made a small whirring sound before she continued, “YoU knOW me as So-ophiA. THaT wAs a huma-N frOnT. My NAMe is-s-s Alpha.”

The view outside the car began to be more and more obscured by trees, and the slope of the road was increasing slightly. The streetlights had all but disappeared, and you were left on a simple two lane road that was blurring by far too fast.

“A human front? So… you made up an identity to commission architecture work?” You frowned, piecing it together - she clearly wasn’t mincing words. You could only imagine the glitching wasn’t easy to talk around. “But… why? I’ve done work for monster clients before, I would’ve been more than happy to-”

Alpha shook her head lightly, mouth twitching into a grim line. 

“No-T yoU. I knEW y-you-r hiSTor-y. The new mon-ST3R lIBrAr-y-y waS paRt of W-WHy I ch-chose you.” In contrast to the uncomfortable shorting out of her words, her simulated eyelights rolled smoothly before she eyed you. “YouR bosSES, thE fiRM Partn-ers, thouGH…”

_ That _ made you grimace. The look was startled off your face slightly as the car hit a bump - and then a number of others, irregularly spaced but frequent. A glance out the windshield showed you were on a dirt road, now, with the treetops weaving over you as Cinnamon wound the car’s way deeper into the rising mountainside. On occasion, a flash of crescent moon through the leaves highlighted a small bit of the road ahead, otherwise only visible by the warm oldschool headlights of the car. Trees and brush were thrown into sharp relief, and leaves littered the clearly infrequently driven road.

… Not spooky at all.

“They’ve always disliked major public work with monsters,” you nodded, sighing as you brought your attention back to Alpha and decided you were already in for the ride. “After the few good-PR public projects - like giving me the greenlight for the library - they used the spotlight to just secure wealthy human clients more than anything…”

“OnE i-n Par-Par-PartiCULar hAd EMAILS dicTatED THat SHOwed non-h-human haTE,” Alpha shrugged with her less-damaged shoulder.

“Son of a-” you swore quietly, knowing precisely who that likely was... 

… Which of your _ex_ _bosses_ that had been.

Now you really  _ were _ wishing you had thrown something at him before leaving.

Before you could spiral down the unpleasant reminder of your freshly unemployed status, you shook your head and looked back at Alpha, not noticing that Cinnamon had gone quiet again and both her hands were back on the wheel.

“So… you pretended to be a human to get the work done…  _ damn _ ,” you breathed, blinking. “I’d say that’s unbelievable, but I’m a bit out of energy for disbelief, and I mean it  _ was _ obvious from your instructions, requests, and… other bits of our conversations that you know your tech stuff.” You adjusted your grip on Addy lightly as Hades head poked forward more, snuffling closer and looking dolefully at her tiny furry friend. “But all your credentials checked out - I don’t even want to know how you managed that…”

You huffed a quiet, exhausted laugh as you refocused on Alpha’s measured gaze, clearly waiting for your verdict. 

… What  _ was _ your verdict? 

Technically, the project wasn’t wholly complete; not on the books, anyways. The construction was done, hell you’d texted Sophia -  _ Alpha _ , you corrected yourself - you’d texted Alpha earlier  _ today _ letting her know. But there was the final inspection to complete, and further paperwork to sign, and the last and greatest of the checks to clear. Suddenly, that seemed like an excellent point, given the fiery remains of the home you’d just finished paying off had been left in the rearview mirror just shortly ago…

You were quiet, weighing her as much as she seemed to weigh you.

… It’s not like she hurt anyone. And she wasn’t wrong, was she? Those ex bosses of yours, the partners that ran the small but well-off architecture firm - they would have found some way to deny even a good project like this, or passed it on, or hell- used it to outright fire you if the ruse had been discovered. Not that you thought that S- that  _ Alpha _ was the type to get caught. You talked to her most days and you hadn’t figured it out! That was saying something.

Plus, it  _ was _ the best challenge and project you’d ever worked on - and with the results, that wasn’t going to be an easy claim to topple any time soon.

You sighed, and, rolling the lollipop in your mouth, finally smiled slightly at her. Her eyelights flickered for a moment, before growing a few pixels wider.

“Well, so long as you’re not paying me blood money, I can’t say I’m that bothered,” you concluded wryly. She stared at you openly, and you continued, “Sure, it would have been cool to know this was a project for a monster, but that doesn’t change anything. Though, er, I  _ definitely _ have a lot of questions about the robot part - I mean, I’m guessing it’s a Mettaton situation, but no one knows which sparkly version of his many stories about his origin are the real deal-” you chuckled and shrugged off those questions for the moment. The superstar had a knack for telling a wildly different and incredibly embellished version of his own robotic origins at every interview. “But honestly, right now? The fact that you pulled the wool over their eyes makes me pretty happy, considering they fired me today-”

Alpha’s body jerked with a sudden shower of harmless sparks coming from her armless shoulder all of a sudden, and her simulated eyelights disappeared in a little flash of her socket screens. 

“ThEY  _ W H A T-” _

Cinnamon’s hand moved to the gearshift then, and with a flicker of what you thought might be amusement on her face, she glanced to Alpha.

“hold that righteous fury for a few, al, we’re here.”

In a matter of fewer moments than you’d prefer Cinnamon brought the car quickly down in acceleration. At last the dirt road had widened slightly, coming to a dead end in something that approximated either a tiny dirt lot that could fit a couple of cars at best, or was a turnaround. She half-drifted the car into park, slipping the parking brake on and kicking open her door.

“pass me addy ‘n al,” she said, looking at you, her hands outstretched.

Hesitantly, you complied, offering a hand to Alpha first. She sighed, looking annoyed at the cut-off conversation, but stood as straight as she could before shifting to sit on your open palm.

“ThiS Co-onveRSation isn’t’t’t OVer,” she groused, looking up at you with purpose. You couldn’t help the laugh that she got from you for it, and nodded as you passed her to Cinnamon.

“Fair enough,” you agreed, watching as Cinnamon lifted Alpha - and placed her in her hood. Alpha settled in, leaning forward in a practiced manner and bracing her arm on Cinnamon’s shoulder to look as Cinnamon took Addy from you as well, cradling her carefully before sliding out of the car.

“c’mere, hades,” she called, leaning back down so her tall frame was visible. Hades whined, looking up at you. You felt her trapped tail beat against the car flooring. Cinnamon lifted a brow, eyeing the large dog, before she exhaled and looked to you. “i’ll be back in just a few, okay? gonna bring them to one of my friends, she’s good with animals ‘n has what we need. it’s dark out though ‘n i can run through the forest fastest alone.” She searched your gaze, then. You were hit with the realization that this is the most you’d ever heard her speak in one go. “... you good for a few?”

Her gaze flickered down to your broken wrist, and to the painful lighter burns along your arms that were making themselves known as the adrenaline further wore out of your system. Given how exhausted you were suddenly feeling, it was easier to answer.

“... This is the most clear horror-movie-setup I’ve ever found myself in, but I’m too tired to care,” you replied with a dry half-smile. She huffed, but you saw a corner of her mouth twitched. You waved your good hand, encouraging her to go. “The human will stay put, no worries. I’d genuinely slow you down right now. I’d just appreciate… minimizing the abandoned-in-the-woods timeframe, if that’s reasonable.”

Hades reluctantly began to climb out of the car and out to Cinnamon’s feet at your acquiescence and her whistled call, blocking you from seeing outside for a moment. Once the large dog was clear and on the leaf-strewn ground outside, you saw Cinnamon still leaning down… wearing a smirk.

“... alright, then, little miss fire fighter,” she said, nodding. “hold tight. be back soon to get you looked at.”

With that, the door to the driver’s side closed, and you watched as Cinnamon took off at an uncharacteristically brisk pace into the woods, back illuminated by the headlights she’d left on. Alpha’s head was turned to stare at the car from her position in Cinnamon’s fluffy hood, you were pretty sure, but the contrast of light and dark made it hard to tell.

The disappeared into the darkness a few seconds later.

… At least she left the car running. It was getting chilly out, and your body was tapped out. You would’ve been freezing in your meager sweatpants and singed t-shirt. You hunkered in, alone and in the quiet for the first time in what felt like an eternity…

You tried to do the math, for a moment, as that thought hit you. 

You… you had probably been asleep just an hour ago.

Now your home was in utter flames, it’s chances of saving ruined by virtue of being on the outskirts of a town that overlooked the monster-heavier population. Despite getting basic recognition and civil rights, legislation and systemic necessities were still ‘undecided’ and ‘under negotiations’ in much of the country for monsterkind. 

The thought boiled your blood, but you were already burnt out and the anger didn’t stay as bright as it might have.

…  _ Burnt out _ . Ha, you’d have to tell Serif and Crimson that one…

Idly, you realized you should have asked Cinnamon if you could borrow her phone. Clearly she had arrived aware of the fire - and had talked to her sister a few minutes ago, so Pepper must be aware as well… They’d all been together tonight, right - so the other girls had likely been looped in too. Still, it would have been nice to have something to busy yourself with, to push down the rising conflict of numbness and traumatized panic that were blooming in your gut, worsening without anything to focus on… You could have called the fire department, made sure they were at least on their way, or called one of your neighbors and skeletal  _ friends _ , who were likely on their way from the nearby town they’d apparently gone to for their friend’s show...

… Honestly, how  _ had _ Cinnamon gotten to the townhouses so fast? 

And… alone?

The snap of a branch brought your eyes upward from your lap and your spiralling thoughts. 

Out the windshield, very little seemed to move. The darkness seemed absolute beyond the reach of the headlights - 

-except for a single blood-red light glowing nearly seven feet off the ground, marking the unwavering gaze of a hulking figure staring directly at you just beyond the edge of the light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ô▿ô
> 
> Remember, friends: review local cryptid lore before wandering into the forest at night. Who _knows_ what could happen on a moonlit night on the mountainside when you hear footsteps following behind you...?
> 
> \-----------------
> 
> Thank you all so much for your comments so far-! I seriously reread them all the time. They keep my muse motivated and more story coming! <3 Let me know what you think of this chapter, and any _burning_ questions or theories you may have so far ;Dc


	9. In Which You Were Told That Life Was Gonna Roll You, But You Thought You Were A Sharper Tool In The Shed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _The whistle and glint of something metallic flying past your ear had you nearly tripping over yourself to stop dead in your tracks.  
> _
> 
> In the towering tree to your left just a pace ahead of you was now buried that oversized machete, dripping with something inky black. 
> 
> It was mere feet in front of where your head had been about to be. __

You liked to think you had at least a few brain cells to rub together. That you were the kind of person who, facing life or death, would make at least a  _ slightly  _ logical choice. That, in the woods in the dark of the night, you’d know a horror movie setup when you saw one.

That red glow of a single eye staring at you from far higher a place than any human would be able stare at you shorted out any possible logical thought except one.

“Oh  _ hell _ no-!”

Without processing things further, your heart leaping into your throat, your broken wrist screaming a reminder of your  _ very human vulnerabilities _ , your good hand darted out and slammed onto the car horn.

In hindsight, it wasn’t the  _ worst _ idea to have come up with. Make noise, garner a scene, attract attention, all solid goals in most situations where someone was potentially cornering you. Or rather, it  _ wouldn’t  _ have been the worst idea, you swore, if it wasn’t for the fact that anything making any sort of sense had been left behind in the dust with the daylight -

-because the moment the horn blared into the dark forest, the shadowed figure at the edge of the car’s headlights suddenly twitched at the loud blaring sound, and in a blink of motion their hulking form seemingly grew taller and  _ shifted _ .

The next moment a three-foot machete was buried in the hood of the car like a horror movie’s mock tribute to the sword in the stone trope. The car engine died instantly, killing the lights, and ending the horn’s blare with a silence so sudden it was deafening.

The machete’s handle barely wobbled with the force it was thrown with, buried that deeply into solid steel engine work.

You didn’t stop to think.

You kicked out the passenger seat door in a scramble and  _ bolted. _

Anything that tall, that could throw a  _ farcically huge machete with such force it could bury in a car engine- _ no way in hell were you sticking around to see what it could do to a door when wrenching it off it’s hinges to grab  _ you-! _

With no light but the stars and the sickle moon overhead, obscured by foliage, you were nearly blind in your desperate scramble to put distance between you and  _ whatever _ that freaking cryptic was. All you knew was the general direction Cinnamon had gone in, and so you moved in that direction, broken wrist cradled to your chest as your other hand pushed brush and low branches out of your way. 

Maybe she wasn’t far - maybe she’d heard the horn and was already on her way back to you, hopefully with some cryptid-be-gone technology-

The sound of a rough voice far too close to your back had you nearly biting your tongue off in an attempt not to scream.

“ **-** **_wait-_ ** “

You obeyed your instincts and swerved towards the direction  _ opposite _ that command.

The silvered outline of trees flashed by you as you sprinted deeper into the woods, dead certain that you were about to become some statistic or the whispers of cryptid-hunters that posted videos online about their search for the unknown. You’d be some poor faceless human gone missing in a desperate scramble after venturing too far into woods that you were  _ very _ aware were  _ extremely _ isolated-

Roots snagged at your feet and you tripped in spectacular fashion. You rolled and nearly face-planted, skidding your knee with a hiss as you narrowly avoided losing all your momentum. Your broken wrist was jolted painfully, but with the instincts of prey you pushed forward anyways, scrambling again to your feet, only to find yourself two steps later cresting over a hill you couldn’t properly see, now haphazardly dashing with no way to stop down a slope-

You heard that same gruff voice from the top of the hill behind you, and though your lungs were screaming at you, desperate for a stop, your adrenaline tapped out after your scramble through a burning house not long enough ago, you pushed off a tree and kept going,  _ kept going _ -

“ **-stop** **_running-“_ **

_ Can’t scream, they’ll know where I am, wherever I am, oh f- _

The whistle and glint of something metallic flying past your ear had you nearly tripping over yourself to stop dead in your tracks.

In the towering tree just a pace ahead of you to your left was buried that oversized machete, now dripping with something inky black. 

It was mere feet in front of where your head had been about to be.

Your momentum worked against you as you attempted to reverse direction against the loose leaves of the forest floor, and in your attempt you felt your ankle twist with a lance of pain. With a choked off sound you fell flat on your ass, and in a gasping daze you tried to scramble backwards, your luck seeming more and more abysmal as you couldn’t help but cry out in pain at a fierce throb from your latest injury as you tried to move and froze up-

Only to see a stone the size of your head thrown a few feet in front of you in a flash. Immediately an enormous bear trap triggered, snapping up the stone and making a noise like the crack of a gunshot for how strong the springs were.

The bear trap was precisely where your foot would have landed if you hadn’t been forced to stop at the sight of the machete burying itself in the tree.

“... real dangerous to sprint around in the woods at night.”

Your entire body tensed. The voice that had echoed through the woods behind you was now directly behind you -  _ above _ you, nearly. 

Slowly, the dregs of what adrenaline your body had left to offer sending your limbs trembling, you tilted your head back.

Above you loomed the enormous, red-eyed figure, silhouetted now by a sliver of moonlight. 

The figure stared at you, unblinkingly - they must have been nearly  _ nine  _ feet tall, you realized, maybe more. Their form was absolutely hulking, and left you frozen like a deer in headlights beneath them.

“you’re hurt.”

It wasn’t a question, and something suspiciously like a squeak escaped you in response.

The figure didn’t move, simply staring at you longer.

You stared back, fingers twitching against the leafy forest floor.

There was the distant hoot of an owl in the quiet of the woods. A small breeze rustled loose leaves somewhere.

… You realized you had no idea what direction the car was in.

A slow exhale left the figure, and finally... they moved. 

Slowly they knelt down, and maybe it was just your panic-laced mind not knowing what to make of these developments, but it felt like it took forever for them to make it down from their towering position. As they did so they shifted more to your side, and at last you could make out a little more of this mysterious figure-

The red eye that had made you feel like a stock horror victim, set to be killed in the opening of a schlocky gore fest fit for a discount movie theater suddenly proved to not be an eye but an eye _ light. _

You were staring up at an enormous skeleton, kneeling now by your side, apparently observing you more closely in turn.

It was little wonder you’d never have been able to guess that they -  _ she _ , you thought, the husky register of the voice settling as still feminine to you now - were a skeleton. Over her skull was drawn a large fluffy hood, obscuring most of her head but her face. One eye socket was seemingly wide open, but cracked badly at the edges - devoid of any eyelight. The other was lidded, its single red eyelight featuring an outer ring and a focused point within that, now that you were close enough to make sense of it. All in all, she… she didn’t look  _ unlike  _ the rest of your skeletal friends - just… 

… Just  _ significantly  _ larger than them.

“Wh-where are- no- who are you…?” 

You finally managed to find your voice, and hey, you almost wanted to pat yourself on the back for managing a mildly reasonable question!

Her blood-red eyelight flickered to your face, and for a long second she didn’t answer.

“... i keep an eye on the woods.”

… Well  _ that  _ was helpfully cryptic. 

The new skeleton seemed to notice the twitch of your brow. 

“alright, y’got me,” her voice was very nearly deadpan, but there was something familiar in the lilt of her words. She lifted a slow hand- “no eyes, after all. skeleton. i’d say *socket* to me, but you’re lookin’ like y’took too many punches already, lil human…”

Her hand lifted only to gently poke you in the shoulder. You winced, feeling suddenly a lot more present in your body as the physical reminder of a bruise made you recall the light burns covering your arms, the break in your wrist, the new sprain in your ankle-

Despite this, you had attention to spare enough to notice that she was wearing fingerless gloves. The gloves were black, you were pretty sure, but over the top of them was inlaid a glow-in-the-dark cartoonish skeleton hand pattern. The glowing design was old and clearly not as bright as it once was, but the juxtaposition of a terrifying, hulking skeleton monster with a machete the length of your leg - probably - wearing glow-in-the-dark Halloween-themed skeleton gloves was... too much. You bit back a startled laugh of a sound. 

In your panic at realizing she might take offense, you tried to recover with a question.

“-Are you gonna kill me?” You blurted out, looking up at your… hunter?

She stared at you, and after a few seconds, she blinked once, twice...

There was a slight shiver in her large silhouette, poorly lit, almost ethereal in a creepy way in the silvered light of the moon. The shiver worsened, turning to a tremble, then to a shake in her shoulders- 

Wait.

She was… she was  _ laughing. _

Her laughter was low and husky like her voice, and as she stared at you with that blood-red gaze you realized in the slowly curling curve of her mouth you could see sharp teeth.

“heh… heheheheh…! hell, lil thing, are ya always so blunt with people y’think’re gonna murder ya?”

The line of her shoulders was still shaking slightly, but she’d seemingly lost a bit of tension you hadn’t realized was there.

“I mean- you- it’s a valid question-!” You tried to respond, sounding just a little indignant. Your lip trembled, and you found yourself against all odds fighting back a  _ smile _ . Tonight really  _ had _ been too much, you had to be losing it- “I mean - you’ve got a machete over half my size - you  _ threw _ it, you- you killed my friend’s car-!”

The machete-wielding skeleton’s low chuckling turned to an outright bark of laughter at that, her good eye socket shutting properly in the unexpected sound before her eyelight settled on you again.

“... yeah, cinn’s gonna have my skull for that… but you’re the one who went ‘n made all that noise- real  _ headsplitter- _ “

There was a strange emphasis to that word, but your sluggish, exhausted mind was only just catching up to the first half of her sentence.

“Wait. Wait,  _ wait  _ \- you know Cinnamon? Hold on-“

You lifted your good hand to your head, cradling the now long-overdue headache that was brewing. The skeleton crouching next to you tilted her head ever so slightly, her singular blood-red eyelight unwavering on you.

“... yeah. was comin t’meet her from th’other side of th’woods. seems she didn’t  _ paws  _ for a moment, though, must’ve just missed her headin’ over.”

You stared up at her, the misunderstanding dawning on you at last.

“.... ‘B’?” You asked sheepishly, recalling the mysterious person Cinnamon had spoken to on the phone in the car.

She huffed slightly, something you guessed was akin to a laugh - but this version of the rough, quiet exhalation in the dark of the woods didn’t exactly set your nerves at ease like a normal laugh might. Still, she nodded, just the once.

“short for ‘blade’. bet ya can guess why…”

Your eyes glanced up to the machete still buried into the tree above you. You grimaced.

“You, uh, throw machetes to stop people often?”

Blade shrugged.

“you weren’t stopping. better gettin’ spooked than losin’ that pretty little leg, i figure.”

You felt an unwarranted heat hit your cheeks at the way she rose a slow brow at you.

“You scared the hell out of me! And buried a claymore-sized machete in Cinnamon’s car before chasing me through the woods! That’s a reasonable response-”

“mmm. run first, ask questions later, huh. seems a real bad  _ pace _ to go about life...”

“... Oh my god. You  _ cannot  _ pun about me sprinting in fear for my life and nearly losing my leg.”

“... sorry, sounds like my jokes don’t have a  _ leg _ to stand on.”

“What even is my life right now.”

“yeah, y’seem to have somethin’ real shifty  _ afoot.” _

She continued punning at you, almost deadpan, but still there was that odd lilt to her voice. You stared back at her, torn between honest amusement at the surreality of this situation, and being too tired to handle it.

After a moment, she glanced away again, looking down in the direction of your more injured arm.

“... seriously though, uh, not t’ _ twist _ your  _ arm _ , but… we oughta get you fixed up…”

Her hand slipped into her pocket, and she pulled out - a cell phone!

“Oh hell yes, please, can you call-“

“-no service…”

You visibly drooped at her immediate observation, looking in despair back up the hill you half-fell down to get to this point. You’d have trouble climbing it on a good day, but in the shape you were in now-

“... hey. don’t… scream, or anythin’, but... this’ll be faster.”

Before you could react in reasonable concern to that sort of statement, Blade’s arms were scooping you up and she stood without an ounce of effort. 

You sucked in a sharp breath in shock - but surprisingly found that she hadn’t jostled anything that needed to stay still. Your good hand immediately clutched at her jacket, leaning close on instinct as you found yourself lifted much higher than any human could ever lift you, even higher than Scarlet had lifted you that one time-

Blade did it with one arm.

The other pocketed her phone and then reached out, and with a mere tug, she pulled her machete out of the tree. It was buried nearly six inches into it, but came out, well, like  _ butter _ . The amount of force it would’ve taken to bury such a huge blade in it from a distance, let alone the precision to do so accurately in the dark was overwhelming-

Because, you realized, she’d  _ absolutely _ meant to hit the tree  _ right there, right then. _ It had stopped you in your tracks before you could stumble into the bear trap, but also not so soon you tried to swerve and got hurt otherwise.

Blade was kind of terrifying.

… And yet, the way she held you made you feel a bit like you were in the arms of a grizzly-bear sized teddy bear. 

Soft, securely cradled, simple and easy in a way that felt almost familiar-

The fluffy trim of her drawn hood tickled your face as she looked down at you.

“... feel okay?” She asked, her expression hard to read in the shadows. 

“Actually, pretty awful,” you answered honestly. After a beat, though, your hand gripped her jacket a little tighter, glancing away with a tinge of warmth in your cheeks. “Er, not because of how you’re holding me, though. If I’m too heavy-“

“you’re not.”

She began walking, the words so casual there was no doubting the truth in them. 

… You were starting to wonder if something in your body language was a signal for large skeleton women to pick you up.

“W-wait, I mean-” You fumbled with your words, your poor exhausted mind struggling to keep up with all these wild developments in your night. You were sprinting from this skeleton woman not five minutes ago, and now she was carrying you up the hill and- and to- “Where are you even taking me-?”

“... home,” she said. 

Blade twirled the machete deftly in her other hand, and morbidly you found couldn’t look away from the thing that could have so easily been your death. Hell, it still might be for all you knew - maybe this was all a ruse, who was to say  _ this  _ giant skeleton lady in the woods was friends with the only  _ other  _ skeleton women you knew-

Inky black droplets shook of the end of the blade in an arc that shimmered in the scant moonlight, and you realized it was oil from the car’s engine.

“Home?” You repeated. Your voice definitely didn’t waver, you reassured yourself.

From the flicker of her eyelight back down to your face, you tried to look a little more firm and in control of yourself. Considering the broken wrist cradled to your chest, the slight shiver in your body, the ginger way you held your now sprained ankle- you weren’t exactly confident you succeeded.

She made a sound that rolled like distant thunder in her chest. It was more tangible than it was audible, with the way you were tucked securely to her.

“home,” she repeated. “... cinn’s definitely there by now. we can get ya patched up properly there.”

You bit your lip.

Granted, it wasn’t like you could exactly make a getaway even if you were wholly inclined to. Blade’s explanation made sense, and the likelihood of running across a totally  _ random _ skeleton monster in the same woods Cinnamon had driven you to to ‘see a friend’ to get first aid help, well… that seemed a little bit too much of a reach, even for your still somewhat panicky mind. 

Still, it felt odd to just… let your erstwhile-hunter carry you through the woods in the dead of night, machete in one hand, and you cradled easily in the other as if  _ you _ were  _ her _ teddy bear.

“... you’re hard t’convince, huh,” she murmured.

You startled from your thoughts, looking wide-eyed up at her. She arched a brow, easily navigating more treacherous terrain in the woods like she had the entirety of it memorized. 

“you’ve got that look on your face,” she elaborated. Her voice was a low husky rumble in her chest, even as her eyelight flickered away from you once more and up the steep slope she was now navigating without much effort. “the  _ ‘don’ eat me, i’m just a wee lil’ snack, hardly worth the trouble,’ _ look.”

You glanced away, grimacing.

“Uh. Is that a look you’re… terribly familiar with, then?”

There was another huff of that almost-laughter again, but she didn’t answer.

You weighed your options.

“... Eating aside, you’re not… looking to murder me, or torture, or anything, right? I mean, probably a moot point to ask if you  _ were _ , but,” you huffed your own laugh, the sound admittedly half-strained. “It’s been a  _ long _ day, and I’m a little bit past taking anything for granted, let alone a… what, nine foot skeleton lady carrying me through the dark woods  _ supposedly _ to our mutual friend…”

Her crimson eyelight was on you again, and this time you met it’s gaze.

“... tell ya what. since apparently th’ word of the same lady who’s carryin’ your injured lil vulnerable squishy human self through the woods isn’ good enough-”

You had the good grace to look sheepish at that, but she continued unaffected.

“-here. hold onto this.”

The hand holding her machete flipped it in her grip before she reached into her pocket again - and she pulled out her phone, tapped her thumb to its surface a few times, and passed it to you, the blade of her weapon held carefully away from you. It settled in your surprised grip more like a tablet than a phone for its size. 

The screen was open to Cinnamon’s contact information.

There were still no bars of service, but this way you’d be able to see the moment you came back into range.

You blinked at the peace offering, staring at it for several long seconds before looking up to her again. 

“... Thank you,” you finally managed, squeezing the communication device slightly and cradling it closer. 

Blade shrugged slightly, but nodded, her gaze once more forward.

Quiet reigned then, and without issue she navigated the dark woods, her boots making almost no sound but for the faint rustle of disturbed leaves. Several minutes passed. The chill of the night air began to set in against your inadequate, hurriedly-donned and now slightly burnt clothing, and without conscious thought you curled a little closer to her. Her jacket was thick and plush despite its sturdy outer shell - you could feel faint warmth emanating from beneath her jacket.

It occurred to you, in vague surreality, that today had begun perfectly normally, with you being gainfully employed.

Now you were fired, your  _ home _ was on fire, you’d nearly died _ in _ that fire, you’d found out that your primary client in the best architecture gig you’d ever had was a  _ robot skeleton _ , your wrist was broken, you might have caused  _ another  _ skeleton friend’s car to be destroyed in the middle of nowhere by startling  _ her _ giant of a friend, and now you were in the arms  _ of  _ that startled friend, after she’d thrown a machete in your path… to stop you from getting your leg from being snapped off by a bear trap while running in blind panic from her.

Your head hurt.

“... so. you get involved in arson often?”

Your head twisted, blinking up at Blade. Her gaze remained largely forward, but that large layered eyelight flickered towards you once - then twice. 

“Can’t say it’s a hobby of mine, no,” you managed to reply, feeling all the more surreal. Your thumb glided along the outer rim of her phone. Maybe you’d passed out in Cinnamon’s car, and this was all a dream…

The throb of your wrist as Blade was forced to casually hop over a dry creek bed begged to differ.

“mm. shame. seems a real…  _ firestarter _ , for conversation. real chance for a…  _ spark _ .”

For not the first time, you stared point-blank at your erstwhile hunter, now… savior? Escort, if nothing else. 

Big, strong, lady escort. 

Who was vaguely terrifying.

… And wasn’t meeting your gaze any more.

At the crest of her forehead, then, you swore… you swore you saw a glimmer of dusky, slate blue. Like the magic you’d sometimes catch on your friend’s skulls, of varying tints, when they were-

-when they were  _ sweating. _

“You… really like puns too, huh? Like to  _ comma _ up with wordplay?” you said without thinking. Wordplay was becoming a bit second nature to you, with all your exposure to your skeletal friend’s tendencies on the subject.

Her gaze didn’t return to you, but as she blinked you were pretty sure you saw a little tension leave the corners of her eyesockets. You got the strange urge to push back some of the fluff that tickled her cheeks from her drawn-up hood.

“guess y’could say that. takin’ a  _ crack _ at ‘em keeps ya sharp, at least…”

Your brow furrowed at that one - her cadence made it definitely feel like she was making a pun, but you had no idea what on earth she might be referencing.

Before you could press on it, though, the tablet-sized phone in your hands started vibrating and you nearly jumped right out of Blade’s steady grip. The screen lit up with what you was a surprisingly artistic photo of Cinnamon leaning in to mess with the parts under a hood of a vintage car.

Your hand swiped quickly over the surface, and before you could even get out a greeting, Cinnamon’s voice came through loud and clear.

_ “holy shit, B, thank fuck i finally got through to you - i can’t fuckin’ find her, please stars tell me you’ve found her-” _

“Hey-”

You tried to speak up, but Cinnamon’s voice kept barrelling onwards, drowning out your words. Vaguely you heard the rush of air and the crunch of leaves in the background of her call. Blade huffed.

“ _ -i got to your place ‘n sure enough Twist’s sittin’ pretty ‘n said you were on your way to find me - so i lope on back because dammit B i haven’t mentioned anything to her yet ‘n was wanting to give T the head’s up while situatin’ the dogs, so oh stars actually hopefully you haven’t come across her, human eyes are so bad ‘n she doesn’t know that you’re out here-” _

“Cinn-”

Blade’s huff turned into a chuckle as you tried to speak up again to no effect, her good socket crinkling slightly.

_ “-and B you’re a catch but we both know human track records with ‘tall n spooky in the woods’ and fucking hell how did i lose her so damn fast, queen fucking azzie take me ‘rif’s gonna have my whole-ass sacrum if it turns out i goddamn lost her in ten minutes flat after all this just because i didn’t wanna jostle her in the sprint ‘n i ran outta magic on that last shortcut-” _

**“Cinnamon-!** ”

The spiralling ramble that sounded increasingly edged in panic cut off at last. 

Blade outright  _ snorted. _

“...  _ B, either you got real good at impersonations of humans you haven’t met, or-” _

“No, Cinnamon, it’s me,” you replied, cutting in quickly. You couldn’t help the amusement in your voice, nor the way your gaze shifted up to Blade. She was looking down at you, and for the first time, you could actually see a proper upwards tilt to her mouth. It was a little lopsided, but the sight made you want to grin too. 

“ _ oh thank fuck.” _

“Sorry,” you apologized, grinning, but feeling genuinely bad. You had the tablet phone on speaker since you were in no way confident you could hold it like a normal phone in only one hand, and the picture of Cinnamon that Blade had set as her contact picture filled part of the screen, lighting up your lap. “I, uh, panicked when I saw, well-”

“i spooked her,” Blade said casually. She met your gaze, her eyelight intensely bright. “... yeah, humans don’t like big scary shadows at the edge of headlights, it’d seem. go figure.”

“Gee, wonder why,” you muttered, but you were smiling a little still despite yourself. “It’s not like the whole setup screamed horror movie, or anything…”

_ “sounds like you two are getting along, at least,” _ Cinnamon mused. You glanced away from Blade shyly, missing whatever her expression was at that. A moment passed, though, and you heard distant crunching, but- “ _ wait, so why the hell is my car split in two, B-?” _

“I might’ve honked at her?”

“all of a sudden your car was screamin’ at me. thought you got that damn horn fixed, it’s like listenin’ to a thousand jerri’s screamin’ at once, cinn, stars-”

_ “so you  _ **_stabbed my car??_ ** _ ” _

“just a little.”

“Does three feet of machete count as a little…?”

_ “-no, no it does not, ‘n stones damn it all B i just finished replacing the last parts on that engine too-” _

“aw c’mon, cinn. nothin’ t’ get  _ revved _ up over. ‘m sure al can hook ya up with somethin’ that’ll  _ shift _ ya into a better mood…”

You bit back a snicker as Cinnamon groaned on the other end. Blade’s socket was lidded in an almost sleepy way now, like a cat that was pleased with itself.

“you’re still smilin’.”

“ _ i am and i hate it. you owe me a new engine. and hood.” _

“don’ worry, i’ll  _ grease _ your palms, beanpole-”

_ “you’re one to talk, _ with a sister that’s-”

Your head lifted as you reached a clearing at the same time as someone else - Cinnamon herself, hand lifted to the side of her skull, phone pressed close. 

Surprise and then relief passed over her features before settling into dry humor, and she loped over to you. Blade kept walking forward into the clearing with you in her hold, even as Cinnamon joined you and put away her phone. 

“Heya, Cinnamon,” you greeted, as casual as if you’d ran into her at a coffee shop. She rolled her eyelights, but after a moment, reached over and ruffled your hair. “Have a good walk with the dogs?”

“heh, not half as eventful as you, sounds like,” she shook her head with a wry grin. “... glad you didn’t get hurt- er, more hurt,” she said, placing her hand back in her jean pockets. She moved nearly as easily as Blade through the forest - clearly seeing just as well in the dark as her significantly larger friend.

“Mostly,” you admitted, glancing a little wryly up at your hunter-savior. Blade glanced back down at you, then to Cinnamon, and shrugged.

“... she wouldn’t stop runnin’,” she said, and for the life of you, you couldn’t tell whether she looked apologetic or not. You’d passed through the clearing already, leaving you once more in the near complete-dark of the tree cover, though now were following some sort of path. It was hard to see the forest floor, but you were pretty sure whatever plants were on the edges of it were softer and more… well-kept? Certainly less  _ scraggly  _ than before.

Cinnamon made a slight face, but sighed. “... can’t really blame you for that,” she said, meeting your gaze. “B’s a total creampuff, but seems like one of those weird sea things- all pokey-”

“sea urchin,” Blade said automatically. Then her brow furrowed, and she looked towards Cinnamon with a deadpan. “... creampuff. really?”

Cinnamon grinned roguishly, one eyesocket closing with a shrug. “hey, i don’t make the rules.”

Blade snorted.

“says the chick who was about t’ put pictures on sea tea cartons because she couldn’t find the human she misplaced for a few minutes-”

“oy,” Cinnamon protested eloquently, cheeks dusting with a sunset orange. “c’mon, i barely got to her in time to keep her ‘n the dogs from becoming hotland skewers earlier, can you blame me for being a little on edge about her health track record today-” Cinnamon stopped herself suddenly, eyelights cutting to you as she lifted a hand to the back of her neck. “-er. sorry. too soon to joke on that one, huh…”

You shrugged lightly with a wry smile. “When you’re right, you’re right-” Your look softened, and you glanced down to your lap, idly resituating Blade’s phone. “-I… really, though. Thank you for that…”

Frankly, you really hadn’t focused on what she’d said - rather, you’d been distracted for a minute by how…  _ open  _ Cinnamon had seemed with Blade in these past few minutes.

Admittedly, you hadn’t interacted much with Cinnamon so far - a few passing conversations when some of the others were around… but she always seemed busy, or wasn’t around in the few chances you got to hang out with your other neighbor-friends. She seemed nice enough, just - hard to crack, maybe, however casual and intriguingly charming she was in passing. With Blade, though - 

She was just… with her friend. Casual. Open.

You... kinda liked it. 

You were dragged out of your thoughts in time to catch Cinnamon’s expression turning a little more serious at your thank you. She nodded, but Blade’s voice stole your attention before whatever thought seemed caught behind Cinnamon’s deeply considering gaze could be put to words.

“... how bad are your burns?” Blade asked, expression serious.

You shook your head, making a face.

“Haven’t really looked, but they don’t feel great,” you admitted. “Been trying not to think about them. Or I was running. Or… otherwise trying to not break into a panic?” You chuckled awkwardly. “You know, dove back into a fire, nearly died, my home I  _ just  _ paid off and everything I own is now up in smoke - bit much for one night…” You looked away. 

The more time passed, the more your body just… hurt. All over. Your throat was still killing you, even with the candy Cinnamon had given you. And you definitely had several burns.

Blade made that strange sound in her chest again, rumbling like thunder.

“... mmm. well, friend of cinn’s…” 

You realized suddenly you never introduced yourself - you quickly did so now, apologetic.

Blade nodded, but lifted a brow nonetheless. “... still, you seem like a lil  _ spitfire  _ t’me,” she mused quietly. Cinnamon huffed a laugh of her own, and you weren’t sure whether to be flattered or not. After a moment, the corner of Blade’s mouth turned up. “nah. too small. y’fit in one arm - maybe i’ll call ya  _ sparky _ .”

Your face colored, and Blade chuckled, the hand with the machete lifting to push aside a curtain of ivy you hadn’t noticed you were drawing near. Cinnamon ducked around the vines, snickering now. 

“Rude??” you replied, but you were fighting a smile that didn’t make sense to you.

“maybe,” she simply replied, but with a small jerk of her head, your expression shifted to one of shock as you followed her gaze. “but with an  _ electric _ attitude like yours, ‘n considerin’ we met at a real  _ fiery  _ time of your life, so i hear, maybe it fits too…”

You didn’t even have the spare attention to question the  _ so i hear _ portion of that. 

No, every ounce of it was on the center of the enormous clearing you’d entered. Trees towered on all sides of it in picturesque framing, and a wild variety of flora spiralled outwards from a cottage-like structure in the middle of the wild, fantastical garden-

Most notably however, the sprawling cottage, with seemingly asundry naturalistic addons and creative stained glass inlays and even what looked like a rooftop garden, was over twice the size of a normal human version of such a structure, but almost perfectly to scale. 

Crystals and soft windchimes hung from enormous windows, a huge wooden door with wrought iron like something out of a fantasy woodland village aesthetic met a stone-cobbled path that meandered through wild gardens that were clearly lovingly cultivated… and absolutely  _ vibrant _ with color, even in the washed-out hues of a moonlit night. The garden curved around the rounded edges of the oversized cottage, clearly leading to far more behind the home - and you could even glimpse a creek passing by behind the house. 

The entire thing looked like something straight out of a Ghibli movie, and you were struck speechless by it as Blade carried you onto the path and towards the wild cottage.

“pretty magical, huh,” Cinnamon mused, and your gaze broke for only a second from trying to soak it all in to look at her in awed agreement. She winked. “yeah, you could say it’s a family favorite.”

Blade didn’t comment on your awe, though if you had glanced upwards you would have better caught the thoughtful tilt to her now serious expression. Her hand lifted, then, machete and all - and she pressed cupped digits to her teeth. 

She whistled through them, the sound trilling like a bird song into the cool night air. You looked up at her in surprise and mild confusion, already halfway through the garden and close to the front door. A beat passed, then another-

And then the front burst open.

Surely, you had thought, surely you had enough surprises for one nights. 

Nothing more could really catch you off guard, or pull proper shock from you, even if this enormous, secret cottage had come close- no, today had been nothing but catching you off guard. Surely, after all that, you were flat on your back anyways, figuratively speaking; there was no more shock to be had.

However, you reasoned in the back of your mind, there probably wasn’t a person on Earth who would be unaffected at seeing nearly 12 feet of skeleton fill up a doorway scaled to her size.

Brightly colored skirts swirled about her legs, an enormous scarf that you suspected might have first lived it’s life as a blanket wrapped around her neck, and stones and beads hung from necklaces around her neck - and she was cradling the very large Hades in much the same way you could cradle Addy.

“SISTER! YOU’VE JUST MISSED CINNAMON-”

Her head cocked.

“OH- I SUPPOSE YOU HAVEN’T, AFTER ALL! HELLO AGAIN, CINNAMON!”

You were speechless, staring up at a bright and eclectically dressed skeleton woman that had several feet even on  _ Blade _ . She was silhouetted in warm, inviting light spilling out of the cottage, making it hard to read her facial expression.

“‘sup, T,” Cinnamon greeted, grinning as she stepped up to the door. Without missing a beat, Blade’s sister stepped back inside, allowing more light to spill out as Cinnamon strolled in, looking, for once,  _ short _ .

“DID YOU FIND YOUR HUMAN, CINNAMON?” 

Blade was walking in, and you felt the question that had bloomed in your mind at the odd question considering your presence here slow and stop in its tracks as Blade stepped in through the enormous door. As she carried you in, as Cinnamon replied, you were at last able to get a look up at Blade’s  _ sister _ .

“sure did,” Cinnamon said, turning back to look up at the tallest skeleton woman yet - then down to you, a measured look in her expression, serious, loaded with intent… but you didn’t see it. 

Your heart had caught in your throat, looking up at Blade’s sister.

Her jaw was maligned, cracked lightly on the edges - and her teeth, as if once terribly damaged, had been reset somehow… but she’d been left with enormous lower fangs that cut above her mouth. Her eye sockets were wide, devoid of any pinpricks of light - and utterly unfocused. 

Her head tilted as Blade chuckled.

“what’s that human sayin’, cinn?” she mused. She turned around to face her sister as the door closed behind you all with a heavy, secure  _ thud _ . “finder’s, keepers…?”

Cinnamon rolled her eyes, but Blade’s sister gasped.

“YOU DON’T MEAN-?”

“yeah.”

Blade looked down at you, and for the first time, you could get a proper look at  _ her _ face. Even with her hood drawn, obscuring much of her skull, you could see that like her sister, her features were…  _ worn _ . She had deep set shadows under her sockets, and one was ruined to the point of barely being able to shift and emote like her other would - cracks and chips scattered around it, and her jaw was nicked as well. Her mouth had sharper features in it, teeth not quite so sharply defined as Pepper’s or Crimson’s, but… not far off. 

You could tell she could see all this observation pass through your expression in that second. Her blood-red eyelight practically burned on you with unreadable intent.

Your heart felt caught in your chest. Not out of fear, no-

Out of  _ empathy _ .

These two friends of Cinnamon’s… they were a little different than your other friends, not just in size, but… they look like they’d been through a different kind of hell. And in that moment, you wanted nothing more than to figure out what you could do to… help, somehow, no matter how irrational it was in your state.

Blade remained quiet for a moment, but finally she blinked slowly. 

“... hold out your good hand, sparky.”

You blinked in return - but at hearing a little gasp from Blade’s sister, you realized what she meant. Your good hand extended in offering, leaving Blade’s phone in your lap - 

“Hi,” you said, a little more quiet than you’d meant, staring up at the towering skeletal woman. You introduced yourself, then added, “Sorry to show up out of nowhere, but… thank you for having me. And for taking care of Addy and Hades.”

Still cradling the now sleepy - and bandaged, you realized - Hades in one arm, Twist tilted her head, her expression going nothing short of shy but  _ starry _ at the sound of your voice.

“OH WOWIE, LITTLE HUMAN-” She breathed, looking in your general direction. Blade set down her machete - it thunked against a wooden surface behind you, but you couldn’t spare attention to the cottage interior yet, stars no- 

Blade’s hand then came under yours, and you felt the soft spark of magic under it. Blade’s sister lit up then- and her own free hand slowly lowered, until it rested over yours - positively  _ dwarfing _ your open-palmed press to her scarred metacarpals. You felt a simmer of soft magic against your palm from her side, then. 

And she  _ beamed _ .

“WELL, STARS, THAT’S FLATTERING!” she said, cheeks dusting with magic. “I GO BY TWIST! IT’S LOVELY TO MEET YOU TOO-!!”

“I- oh?” you replied helplessly and feeling like you’d missed a portion of conversation, feeling flustered and a little warm yourself, cradled still in Blade’s arm as your hand was sandwiched between the two largest hands you’d ever seen in your life.

From your other side, Cinnamon cleared her throat slightly, a grin in her voice.

“oh, yeah - didn’t mention that. Twist is pretty much blind, but… well, she’s got a magic sense in  _ spades  _ these days that helps make up for it,” she murmured, arching a brow, eyelights intent on your expression. “comes with a side effect where she automatically  _ checks _ anyone she touches. knows their intent, basically, ‘n their hp.”

Your eyes widened.

Twist simply smiled shyly yet with a million watts, looking like she’d just been informed she’d won a lottery she hadn’t known she’d entered.

“YOU’RE VERY SWEET, AND VERY INJURED!” she informed you, matter of factly. She turned and handed Hades to Cinnamon, who despite her strength, found such a large dog quite a lot to handle, and stopped looking quite so amused at your confused fluster and instead turned to suitably concerned about where the fluff ended and dog began.

You, the following moment, became less concerned with  _ that  _ amusing development, and more with the fact that Blade took her phone from your lap smoothly - just in time for Twist to lean down, plucking you out of Blade’s hold and tucking you into the sweetest,  _ highest _ bridal carry you dare guessed anyone had ever known.

Heat flooded your cheeks as you stared up at Twist, a confused sound strangling in your throat - she hadn’t jostled a single injury in the motion, impressing you as you were desperately baffled about the latest giant, strong lady arms you were now in.

“TIME TO HEAL THE HUMAN,” she said firmly.

And with no further ado, she turned around and carried you bridal style into her home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (◡‿◡✿)  
> (ʘ‿ʘ✿) _time to heal the human, she says._
> 
> Ahaha, oh stars, but thank you all so much for your patience in waiting for this chapter! (or, if you're coming to this later... well, thank you regardless! keep shining on, you delightful star, you!) Life's been a bit wild and I may or may not have changed the events of this chapter at least 4 times to better suit the intro of the Horror sisters and to better setup things to come, heheh. 
> 
> Thank you so, so much to everyone who left a comment on the last chapter - seriously, I've reread them all so many times. They keep me inspired & remind me that even with how niche this silly au of mine is, there are people out there who care enough to leave any kind of comment! And let me tell you, that's a fic writer's greatest fuel. ｡ﾟ(TヮT)ﾟ｡
> 
> So please, leave a comment if you can, I appreciate each and every one so much! Let me know what you think of our final two starring skeleladies' intros, what you like best, what you're looking forward to- anything! <3 Take care of yourselves ya cuties, and thanks for tuning in to the latest chapter of sapphic skeleton sister shenanigans~ ✧( •̀ ▿•)ゞ

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! if you like this fic, please leave a kudos and comment - your words give me the drive to keep writing ヽ(；▽；)ノ ♡♡♡
> 
> The skeleton sisters/their fic are an AU that i call Lilytale; if you'd like to see what they look like you can check out their references [here on my artblog](https://nighttimepixels.tumblr.com/post/170972481568/alright-now-that-ive-got-them-all-done-plus)! i've also got [a tag over there for them](https://nighttimepixels.tumblr.com/tagged/lilytale) if you just want to peruse anything i post about them.


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